Soling's Stop

The road to Alcoy is a picturesque treat of various hues of blue. Albeit the humidity brought about by the sweltering heat, it is still a treat to go to this end of the province of Cebu to enjoy the unspoilt beaches where you can just park and dip or if you desire, just jump into the water to take a brisk and refreshing swim. 

The waters are warm and inviting and the beach line is clean. As if naturally, people in the area do not like to spoil the landscape with domestic debris.

Vicky Dy of Adnetwork Corporation and I however seek Alcoy for a different reason. The Sinanduloy Bread. It is a soft bun that is filled with delicious camote (sweet potato) jam. There are other offerings there as well. Batchoy and pancit guisado are a good match to the freshly baked breads. We have fondly called the bakery Soling’s Stop for it is a nice place to stop on your way to the south end of Cebu or back to the city, to get a cool drink or stretch a bit.

Soling’s Bakeshop is located in Barangay Pogalo, Alcoy, which is at the very gates of the municipality. This small unassuming bakery is this year’s Obra Negosyo Eskwela’s entry to the local entrepreneurship program of Governor Gwen Garcia in cooperation with the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the different universities in Cebu City.

Ursula “Soling” Sabutanan is a housewife who used to operate a small bakery in Cebu City but decided to pack up and go back to her hometown when her sister, who was her business partner left for abroad. 

However, Soling was not immediately able to set shop in Alcoy as she got sick and needed money for her health. Her husband, Alfredo or Fred as we call him, who works in Cebu City could make just enough for his family’s basic needs so setting up their family business in full scale was not possible.

Understanding that his income was not enough for their needs at home, let alone the education of his other children, Fred decided to train his second son Alvin to bake. Alvin was 20 years old and shied away from further schooling after high school due to his disability as his right hand had only a pinky. He was nicknamed Ungkol (short for pungkol in reference to his incomplete hand) by his siblings and friends which he initially resented but later on got used to as it became his family’s endearment to him.

Fred and Soling set up a small one-stall bakery in front of their house as it was along the roadside to sell bread to their neighbors. Using the equipment they brought from their old business, they started SOLING’S BAKESHOP. They opened a 12-15 square meter space and painted the walls yellow.

That was what Vicky and I saw when we reached Alcoy as part of the mentoring team in this segment of the Obra Negosyo Eskwela. The yellow store could be easily found but it was gloomy and hot. The baking area just had about two and a half meters by one meter to move about and the shelves were bare and close to the low ceiling.

Thus when Mayor Nicomedes delos Santos recommended the bakeshop as an entry to the Obra Negosyo, Soling’s hopes came alive. The mayor and his team assisted Soling with the reconfiguration of her store, making it more airy and bright. Lifting both the look of the store and the spirit of the Soling’s family. From a small, cramped space, the bakeshop now has room for eating and parking.

Through training on enterprise development with Southwestern University and Product Development through San Miguel Brewery Inc. and San Miguel Food Group, the bakery began its first steps to being the place to take a snack when in Alcoy.

In this program, what really caught our attention was Alvin. Alvin whose hands he always kept hidden, and whose head would loll in shyness was gaining confidence. He would ably knead dough with his right hand and would make perfectly shaped breads out of it. He reminded me of the Korean tele-novela, the Baker King, when he would make bread. He seemed to be lost in what he was doing. After sessions of product development, he would study the products he just learned to make and would try to do it on his own.

He is now trying out the dolo-bars, revel bars he named after the dolomite mineral mined in their barangay. He is also bent on perfecting the Siloy cookies, named after the Black Shama bird found only in Alcoy. Through their bakery, Soling and her family hope to show people who pass by their place what best things Alcoy can Offer.

And for Alvin and his siblings, we have seen how now, they have started to pursue their dreams again.