OHAS Boulangerie & Cafe marks 1st anniversary

OHAS Boulangerie & Café celebrated its first anniversary yesterday with a simple celebration attended by government officials led by Gov. Arnold I. Palacios as well dignitaries from the private sector.

In his congratulatory speech, Palacios said he was surprised when the high-end bakery opened last year during the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and at the height of challenging times of doing business on the island.

“When I was told last year that they were thinking of opening something similar to their bakery in Korea, I said ‘really [you’re] going to do that right after COVID-19 and with business activities still being slow?’ So, you know, a lot of investments are usually done when the fiscal situations are not doing well, but I know that Micronesia Resort Inc. took the chance and the risk, and with their hard work, we are here today to celebrate the one-year [anniversary of OHAS Boulangerie & Café]. I want to congratulate you for being here for the community. Many members of the community have continued to enjoy the bakery products [that you have],” said Palacios.

E-Land Group executive managing director Dennis Seo, meanwhile, used as an example OHAS Boulangerie & Café’s evolved relationship with Cha Café and how collaboration between neighbors and businesses lead to mutual benefits.

He explained that businesses benefit from increased foot traffic and customers and the same is true with OHAS Boulangerie & Café and Cha Café’s relationship, stating that many customers from the former buy drinks at the latter and many customers of the latter buy pastries and bakery products at the former.

Seo also expressed his gratitude to the administration of Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang for their support. He added that OHAS Boulangerie & Café is dedicated to providing high-quality bakery products to the community and that they value customer feedback to constantly strive to improve their services.

Meanwhile, Apatang mentioned how he enjoys the unique sweets at OHAS Boulangerie & Café so much that he has to make sure to have his blood sugar checked before consuming all the sweets, which brought laughter to the crowd.

Apatang then reiterated his request that E-Land Group open a second branch in the southern part of Saipan.

House Speaker Edmund Villagomez (Ind-Saipan, meanwhile, jokingly answered Apatang’s request by saying that E-Land Group made the correct move by opening OHAS Boulangerie & Café at Precinct 3, his district, which drew more laughs.

Villagomez then congratulated OHAS Boulangerie & Café for opening during challenging times for the local economy.

“I really appreciate you all for opening, especially in this time of recovery. So, I just want to say congratulations and cheers and hopefully I can come back here on your 10th anniversary,” he said.

Margie Rodgers served as the mistress of the ceremony with Fr. Rey Rosal officiating the blessing of the food. The event was concluded with the cutting of first anniversary cake adorned by strawberries by Palacios, Apatang, and Seo.

The event was also attended by Department of Labor Secretary Leila Staffler, Saipan Chamber of Commerce Joe C. Guerrero, among others.