FilThai entrepreneur pioneers fashion café concept in Cebu

Since several restaurant concepts have already blossomed within Cebu’s emerging business districts, an entrepreneur figured it would be better to start a new and different concept called as a fashion café that will provide clients everything they need from shopping, groceries to dining needs.

Chic and Fab which recently opened at the Crossroads in Banilad provides a one-stop-shop for Thai food and grocery items and ready-to-wear imported products aside from providing a fusion of Asian cuisines.

Owner Jim Hiranpruck said that they are the only shop and the biggest offering dining and shopping of Thai products at the same time here in Cebu.

About 85 to 95 percent of all their shelved products that ranges from toiletries, cosmetics, chocolates, candies, noodles, biscuits, coffee, and ready to wear items have been imported from Thailand while the rest came from China, Korea, Laos and Myanmar.

Hiranpruck added that compared to those Asian products sold from the city’s major malls, they sell cheaper items.

Hiranpruck’s family also operates Krua Thai chain of restaurants and the former Vietnamese restaurant Hai Phong. They are also the exclusive distributors of Thailand’s popular Singha beer. Aside from this, they have also other businesses in Bangkok.

As a half Filipino who has already stayed for quite a long while here in Cebu, Hiranpruck noted several changes in Cebu’s business environment. He said that Cebu nowadays has become a hub for blossoming businesses and young entrepreneurs like himself.

“Compared to the past years, Cebu has changed quickly. Business is booming here because everywhere you can see new constructions and developments. There are a lot of malls now, restaurants with different concepts and there are a lot of investors local and foreign as the market kept on getting bigger as well,” he said.

In such a short period since its soft opening, Chic and Fab was already able to get regular customers especially that Cebuanos have come to appreciate and like Thai and Asian cuisine, said Hiranpruck.

He added that the fashion café was conceptualized to provide a venue for families, friends and business colleagues to get together.

He said that even if they are located near the highly-debated overpass construction, they are not affected as Crossroads still receive ample number of client traffic daily.

“There might be a lot of competitors already but knowing Cebuanos, if your food and service is good they will keep on coming back even if they go and try new places,” he added.

After the concept hits the market, Hiranpruck said that he might go into street food cart business that will offer Thai cuisine which is very popular in other Asian destinations such as Bangkok.

A street food cart business he said will not require its operator to lease spaces as it can be transferred from one location to the other, making it a more income generating venture. It can also cater to a wide-segment of clientele.

But he said that for the meantime he will first focus on the operations of the fashion café before he ventures to this new endeavor to ensure its success in Cebu’s thriving business environment and growing market.