Taboradas invest P1 million for "Sug-angan" resto

CEBU, Philippines - With the business sector acknowledging that the food sector is the most resilient and the safest investment in times of crisis, Jesse Taborada and his wife Bab decided to venture into the restaurant business.

Jesse admitted to having no knowledge or proper know-how to start up a food business but nevertheless took the risk and thus the birth of the “Sug-angan” restaurant in 2007, which is now known to its valued customers as one of the best places that serves Visayan dishes.

He said they had to start from scratch and rented out a vacated property in J. Llorente Street, Capitol Site, Osmeña Blvd. and conceptualized the whole structure on their own with a capital of P1 million, which already included all of the facilities that they had to buy.

Jesse added that instead of locating inside the malls, they decided instead to choose the J. Llorente area because of the ample space, which is very accessible to a good number of clients from nearby establishments.

Also, they needed an open space since all their food offerings are cooked through old-style cooking using stones and wood, hence the name “Sug-angan” or sug-angon, Visayan term for cooking using wood.

The couple’s love for food is also another factor that made them take the risk on entering business and since they both knew how to cook Visayan food, such as their top sellers, the Linarang, which is a sour version of the known Tinola that is sold at P65, the Adobong Kanding at P70 and the Caldereta at P70, they chose to find ways to entice their customers with this kind of dish.

He admitted though that they have not earned their return of investments yet since they started in 2007, but “patience and determination” are the values that make “Sug-angan” restaurant present said Jesse and they are optimistic that they would be able to survive.

Since the restaurant’s location would force the customers with vehicles to go all the way around due to the one way policy of the street. Jesse admits that this is another problem but in the meantime he said that they are catering to those working or living nearby and making sure that the customers would have the reason to come back.

He said that they really are planning to further expand and open another branch if the economy starts to recover.

Sug-angan serves lunch and dinner with their specialty dishes plus other food with "Mais rice or plain rice" and caters big groups. —AJ de la Torre