Cruisin'

Cebu’s Cafe Laguna to open business in Davao’s Abreeza


The famous Café Laguna of Cebu was among the 300 merchants who recently flew in to Davao City to get a first hand look of the ongoing construction of the complex and updates from top officials of business partners Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and Antonio Floirendo Management Corporation (AFMC) with premier development here called Davao Abreeza which will be open in May 2011.

Julita P. Urbina, founder of Cafe Laguna and a culinary lover who wanted to share her talent to everyone, said they want to be part of the big business, believing in the economy of Davao City where she noticed a dramatic change in the city's landscape, its physical appearance and the growing number of people working and doing business activities here.

Her last visit to Davao was five years ago.

Mrs. Urbina and husband Ricardo M. Urbina, M.D., own Cafe Laguna where she said it only started as a carinderia in 1991 with ten tables right at their residence in an apartment they owned in Camp Lahug, Cebu City which they named "Mother's Best".

"We wanted only a small business and not thinking of a big restaurant," she said.

But that was in 1991 when the small eatery started cooking and selling all Filipino food and delicacies. Since then it already had a following among Cebuanos and those from other places and their eatery kept on expanding as more customers kept coming for the distinctive taste of home-cooked meals. Later they named the place Cafe Laguna.

She said Laguna because they hailed from that place.

She started with a carinderia that served Filipino food with a distinctive taste. Then, she opened Cafe Laguna in Lahug, Cebu with only 10 tables in an apartment that she owned. Three years later, she opened Cafe Laguna in Ayala.

As her restaurants grew, so did the food that they offered -- more varied and better. Of course, their trademark, the puto-bumbong is always present.

She learned cooking from her mother and doing the cooking herself she makes sure everyone enjoys the good taste as they came back for more. Among their bestsellers are Puto Bumbong, Kare-Kare, Palabok, Lumpia, just to name a few. They also serve Laguna Blend, a distinctively rich and aromatic blend of the freshest Arabica and Robusta beans.

Their expansion has moved up to a more accessible place when Ayala Center opened in Cebu in 1999. From a small beginning the going turns big and a new branch opened, the Laguna Garden of a two-storey building at the back of Ayala Center also in Cebu. They converted their Lahug area as their Catering and Commissary Center.

The Urbina's Cafe Laguna todate has five branches, two in Ayala Center in Cebu City, one at SM Cebu City, one in Cagayan de Oro City and one in Iloilo City. They also owned Lemongrass, a Thai and Vietnamese Restaurant where all their dishes have lemon grass as basic ingredient.

The Davao branch, she said is on franchise and they are to choose from four interested parties, among them are from Davao City.

However, she said they are very keen on their selection because it is not only the person's affordability and the money that they look at but their passion for the food business.

Honestly, she said she does not know about franchising but she learned the business as their partner, ALI, also allows them to develop and learned the business plus they anchor also their operation on research and development.

"We grow up with the Ayala," she said.

Cafe Laguna is a family owned business and she said that all their children are involved in the operation.

Meanwhile, Urbina said all of their branches have to be closely supervised and follow a personalized approach.

"This is also what we want in Davao because people here deserve no less but the best," she said.

She said it has been their vision to give customers their money's worth -- good food, good service with a lot of personal touch. (PNA)

DCT/DDB/lvp