Filipino restaurateur Vic Vic Villavicencio dies of a heart attack at 67

“Vic Vic was a kind, gracious, thoughtful, and generous individual who was always there to support his friends.” (Photo: Dick Gordon/Facebook)

Villavicencio, also known as “The Buffet King,” was the man who made eat-all-you-can restaurants in the country as First Foods is the company behind Sambo Kojin, Number 1 Barbecues, and Ogetsu Hime. In 1977, he founded Kamayan and around eight years later, popularized the Saisaki brand. He offers a 50% discount and no service charge at one of his most popular restaurants, Dad’s World Buffet, for the ultimate dining experience. Prior to his death, he had just opened upscale Japanese restaurant Ogetsu Hime.

During an interview with Philstar, Villavicencio describes the importance of his customers’ dining experience, saying, “After Dads, different versions of our buffet came up. They gave you 50-percent off if you finished your food.” He elaborates, “In order to have very good quality food, you have to build your kitchen right in front of the food, as you can see in our restaurants. So the guy cooking tempura is also the same guy refilling it, so he knows if it’s newly cooked, if there’s enough for the guests, if there’s not enough.”

In addition, Villavicencio is the brother of former Talk N’ Text Katropa team manager and MVP Group media bureau chief Virgin Villavicencio. He is also the cousin of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) board chairman and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Ricky Vargas, owning the Triple V basketball team himself in the former Philippine Basketball League (PBL).

Villavicencio is survived by his wife Mardiel and six children. On his free time, he was known to love golf, fishing, and like his sibling, basketball.