Ragusa still offering a scoop or two 70 years on

Ragusa still offering a scoop or two 70 years on

Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The more things change, the more they stay the same for Ragusa Es
Italia.

Seven decades have passed since it began operations, five
presidents have led the country but Ragusa is still dishing up
its homemade ice cream.

Located on Jl. Veteran no. 10 in Central Jakarta, the ice
cream parlor has changed little since it opened its doors in
1947.

Still on the menu are the same seven basic flavors --
chocolate, vanilla, mocca, strawberry, nougat, durian and rum
raisin -- served by white-uniformed waiters to patrons seated on
rattan chairs under old ceiling fans. There is also the unusual
sound of the original cash register.

"Keeping true to the very same taste for decades makes people
from all ages and social status come back to Ragusa," said
Buntoro Kurniawan, who now manages the business.

"Some of our customers even come back to Jl. Veteran just to
remember their good old days when they were first dating."

He counts a couple of former presidents among regulars.

"Pak Harto (Soeharto) and Pak Habibie used to order chocolate
and vanilla flavors," Buntoro said.

Ragusa's long history began when Italian immigrants Luigi and
Vincenzo Ragusa opened an ice cream stand in 1932 during Pasar
Gambir, a month-long annual night market held in conjunction with
the Jakarta Fair.

Four years later, they began selling their ice cream from a
cart on Jl. Pos in Bandung.

In 1947, the two Ragusa brothers, with the help of their three
other brothers, opened the Jl. Veteran parlor.

One of the five Ragusas, Francisco, married Buntoro's older
sister, Liliana, who had worked as the cashier at the cafe.

In 1970s, the Ragusa clan, including Liliana, moved to
Grottaglie in Taranto province in southern Italy, handing over
the business to Buntoro.

Buntoro, a former teacher, branched out with the first Ragusa
restaurant in 1978 at the Duta Merlin shopping complex on Jl.
Gajah Mada, Central Jakarta.

"My wife, Sias Mawarni, had an idea to open a restaurant
instead of only having an ice cream parlor. Ice cream sells like
hotcakes during the dry season but in the rainy season, business
gets very slow," he said.

With the success of the restaurant, Buntoro expanded the
business and opened four other restaurants, including two in
Bogor and Cipanas, both in West Java.

But the business' flagship remains the ice cream parlor.

"I manage the business by myself. I don't need to advertise
Ragusa, it's widely known based on word of mouth promotion.
Besides, if there are too many ice cream parlors, people will be
confused where to go."

How has Ragusa survived increased competition?

"To tell you the truth, our business decreased when industrial
ice cream first came to this country in the 1980s. But soon, the
sales improved," Buntoro said.

"Ragusa is a homemade ice cream made of pure milk, it has no
bubbles like industrial ice cream and it only has seven flavors.

"With only seven flavors to choose from, people can quickly
select the one they prefer."

Ragusa also offers various ice-cream combinations like Tutti
Frutti, Banana Split and Spaghetti ice cream.

Another "secret" is that Buntoro uses low-fat powdered milk,
imported from Australia, to make the ice cream.

"Most women are concerned about their weight. But when
consuming our ice cream, they don't have to worry because we only
use low-fat milk," he said.

"I just guess children and their parents realize that our ice
cream tastes much better."

Affordability also brings in the crowds, even if it means
lining up to wait for a seat, especially on weekends.

"Kids on their bikes, working people and even families can
come here to buy various kinds and prices of our ice cream,"
Buntoro said.

-- Primastuti Handayani