Biz prospects remain bright for homegrown restaurateur

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the entry of established national and international casual dining brands in Cebu, local restaurateurs continue to post encouraging performance owing to the loyalty of Cebuanos to native taste as well as the growing interest of foreign tourists to explore local dishes.

Creative Cuisine Gourmet, the operator of several restaurants in Cebu such as Chika-an sa Cebu, Big Mao, Café Alde, and catering services Creative Cuisine, continues to see good prospects for food business not only in Cebu, but also in the neighboring cities in Southern Philippines.

In fact, the company recently opened its 10th outlet of Chika-an sa Cebu at the Ayala Center Cebu, an indication of the dynamic food business landscape here.

In an interview with John Dytian, president of Creative Cuisine Gourmet, he said that while foreign and national restaurant brands continue to penetrate the Cebu market, homegrown players are likewise keeping on their toes to take on the challenge and compete head-on by constantly improving products, services and customer relations.

Of the group’s restaurant brands, Chika-an sa Cebu is one of the fastest growing brands of the company, Dytian said. At present, the company has entered into franchise deals with Davao, General Santos, Ilo-ilo, and Bacolod operators.

Currently, the company is clenching franchise deals for other outlets to be opened in Davao, Cagayan de Oro City, and Butuan City.

Dytian, however said that although other entrepreneurs have expressed interest to franchise Chika-an sa Cebu brand in other areas, “we are opening at our own pace. The challenge is the sustainability and consistency of our dishes.”

Chika-an sa Cebu has come a long way from their first opening near the Cebu Redemptorist Church. After purchasing the brand from founder Jessica Avila in 2005, the Creative Cuisine Group had made Chika-an sa Cebu an established casual dining brand, with its presence mostly in the major cities in Visayas and Mindanao.

Meanwhile, the group has also recently introduced a food truck concept brand, called “Big Daddy” to trail-blaze with the evolution of dining style among young generation.

The new food truck brand, according to Dytian is expected to grow in number in the next few months, depending on the performance of its pilot outlet located at the Cebu IT Park.

The “Big Daddy” food truck concept of the Creative Cuisine Gourmet, initially offers young generations’ comfort food such as burger, sausages, sandwiches, and French fries, among others. (FREEMAN)