Filipino immigrant Paolo Dungca began his hospitality career as a dishwasher at an Italian restaurant in Disneyland. He was originally planning to go to nursing school, but as he worked his way up at the restaurant, he realized his true passion was cooking. Dungca eventually entered the world of fine dining, training under several acclaimed chefs in Los Angeles and Washington, DC before opening his own Filipino restaurant, Hiraya, in September 2023. In just one year of operation, Hiraya has already received regional and national recognition.
With Hiraya, Dungca aims to celebrate the beauty, history, and flavors of his home country by focusing on the Filipino values of bayanihan, which means love for community and uplifting others.
"We're pretty big on Filipino hospitality," he explained. "That was the most important thing we wanted to accomplish. When you walk into a Filipino person's home, they make sure you leave full, in so many ways — full of love, of friendships, and food. That's what we want our guests to experience."
A restaurant driven by Filipino hospitality
Hiraya includes two dining experiences: First, an all-day café that offers Filipino-inspired pastries, rice bowls, salads, and sandwiches. Then upstairs, Kayu features a tasting menu of elegant, authentic Filipino cuisine.
"It's been a really good journey so far," said Dungca. "The neighborhood has been really supportive from the get-go. People are excited to learn more about what we're doing, and explore a cuisine that's foreign to them."
Dungca launched Hiraya as a pop-up in 2021 inside a food hall. After the pop-up was well-received, his team thought about opening a brick-and-mortar concept. Dunga found a space and opened Hiraya in Washington DC's artsy, up-and-coming H Street Corridor neighborhood. He found that DC residents were curious about Filipino food, and points to the Philippines' rich heritage as part of the reason for Hiraya's success.
"Filipino heritage has a rich history," he explained. "We have some Spanish influences, Chinese, Japanese, and American. Being able to introduce what we grew up eating and share our heritage with DC is an amazing feeling."
Today, Dungca operates Hiraya and Kayu, Little Hiraya at the Union Market District food hall, and Sari, a fast casual carryout concept to bring Filipino comfort dishes to the DC suburbs.
Photo credit: Rey Lopez
Understanding the benefits of third-party delivery
Dungca knew that delivery would be a part of his restaurant business strategy from the beginning: "Ever since we opened, we've always wanted to push online ordering and delivery as part of our daily operational routine," he said. "We wanted to be accessible not just for dine-in."
"A big focus for us is being able to cater to not just our neighborhood but also the neighborhoods around the area. That's why we're on DoorDash."
Today, he's found that a majority of Hiraya's online orders come from outside of their neighborhood. "DoorDash is a really good marketing tool," he said. "People who aren't near H Street still can get us. When friends and family visit from out of town, they order DoorDash. It benefits both sides — consumers outside of the neighborhood and our business."
Dungca says that DoorDash's seamless ordering experience helps drive repeat business for both delivery and dine-in. "DoorDash makes it easy for guests to order quickly with no hiccups getting the delivery, which makes them want to come back," he explained. "Then it becomes a growth opportunity. You get new diners and turn them into regulars."
"At the end of the day, cash is king. If we're getting a bunch of volume on DoorDash, it definitely adds to the bottom line of the store."
Photo credit: Rey Lopez
Leveraging the DoorDash Merchant suite to drive 16% monthly sales growth
In addition to offering delivery and pickup through DoorDash Marketplace, Dungca appreciates DoorDash's POS integration with Toast, and being able to quickly adjust the menu as needed. "I like the integrations DoorDash provides through our POS system," he said. "It's pretty easy to navigate. For example, we use the POS integration to easily 86 things that aren't available at the time."
He also uses DoorDash Promotions to encourage customers to order from Hiraya with a discount: "We do promotions to bring new diners in, and repeat customers as well. It's nice to throw in those little percentage deals."
When issues do arise, Dungca has had a positive experience with DoorDash support. "The customer service has been really helpful and quick to respond," he noted. "It's been really amazing."
Hiraya has been on the DoorDash platform for less than a year, but has already seen impressive growth. The restaurant has generated a 16% increase in average monthly DoorDash sales, and a 23% increase in average monthly DoorDash orders (comparing December 2023-March 2024 vs. April-July 2024). On average, 66% of Hiraya's DoorDash orders come from new guests, leading to a steady increase in their customer base.
"DoorDash definitely brings in new business because it pushes beyond your neighborhood radius, so others can try your food and enjoy it."
16%
increase in average monthly DoorDash sales (Dec 2023-March 2024 vs. April-July 2024)
23%
increase in average monthly DoorDash orders (Dec 2023-March 2024 vs. April-July 2024)
66%
of Hiraya's DoorDash orders come from new customers on average
4 ways Hiraya optimizes their DoorDash business
The Hiraya takes several steps to improve the delivery customer experience and make the most of their DoorDash partnership:
1. Streamline and organize the delivery menu
Dungca takes a strategic approach to Hiraya's delivery menu, ensuring customers can quickly skim through it to find what they want.
"We make sure it's easy for guests to see right away what they want to order, instead of having to scroll through a long page, where by the time they get to the bottom they're no longer interested."
2. Use menu descriptions to educate guests on Filipino cuisine
Dungca uses his menu as an opportunity to educate guests on Filipino cuisine. His menu descriptions often include both Tagalog and English — e.g., "Soy garlic beef rice bowl (Tapsilog)" — to make the dishes more approachable.
"Instead of only Tagalog words, we simplify the menu descriptions and explain how dishes are prepared so guests don't feel intimidated," he explained. "We want to be accessible just as DoorDash is accessible to customers."
3. Have multiple team members check delivery orders
To help ensure delivery orders are correct, the Hiraya team staples the receipt to the takeout bag and crosses off items as they're added. Dungca emphasizes the importance of double checking orders before they go out.
"We have a lot of eyes on the delivery order before it goes out. First the kitchen expo, then the cashier, and then the barista station before we hand it off. It's not just one person's job."
When items are missing, Dungca says, it's not only a bad look for his business, but for DoorDash as well — and he wants to be a good partner. "The way I see third-party delivery, it's a partnership. We both need to cover both sides."
4. Cook and package orders quickly to ensure food quality
A key concern about delivery for many restaurant owners is how to ensure quality after a dish leaves your restaurant.
"It's a tough question, because when it goes out your door, you have no control over quality anymore," Dungca admits. "The best advice I have is to make sure you cook a delivery order the way your restaurant always cooks it, at the highest level. Then it's more likely to translate when the guest receives it after the delivery time. There's really no other trick to it."
He also recommends taste testing delivery food, and cooking and packaging it as quickly as possible: "We wait until the pickup time is within seven to ten minutes, then we cook the order and box it right away to help it keep its integrity."
Photo credit: Lair Collective
Looking forward to continued growth with DoorDash
With one year of running Hiraya under his belt, Dungca wants to continuously improve. "Our focus will be streamlining everything, making things accessible, easy, and high quality" he said. "We've been at it nonstop for a year, and we've continued pushing ahead — with the help of DoorDash, of course."
Based on his own positive experience with the platform, Dungca said he encourages other restaurant owners to try DoorDash:
"I feel like restaurants are opposed to online ordering because they had bad experiences with other platforms, but we haven't had that with DoorDash. The DoorDash platform is about servicing customers, and making sure they get the top service they should be getting."
If you're a restaurant owner looking to replicate Hiraya's success, sign up for DoorDash and start growing your delivery sales today.
