CALL CENTER COUPLE RIDES ON BURGER CRAZE

ALONG the busy stretch of Nakpil Street in Malate, Manila is a craft burger joint often visited by students, office workers and families looking for a unique burger experience.

Ogie and Clarice Abanilla launched Cuervorito Craft Burgers as a full-pledged business venture in 2015, months after the couple started a side hustle selling chicken meals to office mates in a BPO center in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Working graveyard shifts and selling meals in their office took a toll on their well-being and office performance. Getting late for work became habitual as their time was eaten up by meal preparations— squeezing in morning market chores to buy fresh ingredients, then grabbing a few hours of nap before rushing to cook the meals.

“We actually slept in the parking for a few minutes before we

SECURITY BANK OFFERS INNOVATIVE LOANS TO MSMES their

SECURITY Bank is giving solid footing to micro and small entrepreneurs to jumpstart their businesses efficiently, seamlessly, and hassle-free through the Business Mortgage Loan (BML).

Micro-enerpreneur Luiza Navarez owner of FlowerzByl, is one of the many small business owners that Security Bank has assisted through BML program. FlowerzbyL, a curated gift shop studio that markets bespoke gift boxes for product launches, corporate giveaways, or special events, leveraged BML to for its business growth.

She finds it intimidating to approach a private bank with a humble curer account saving account (CASA), of which funds are being used as rolling capital for the business, until a Security Bank account officer briefed a run thorough of the latest financing tool for small businesses.

Doing the same repertoire every day was not only taxing, but dangerous as we’re driving alongside trucks at dawn and I tended to doze off at the wheel if not for my wife who kept me on my toes. We just couldn’t give up since we have a family to feed. We’re having a hard time making both ends meet,” Ogie said.

At first, the couple started bringing in five fried chicken meals for sharing. In less than a week, people were ordering left and right, so they doubled to 10 and then 20. They started to diversify by bringing in burgers which were the craze back then.

There were no provisions for pantry food back at the time, and the closest thing to a food store is a 7-11 near the building where the BPO is located.

Both recalled how their supervisor, an Indian national, got addicted to their spicy cajun chicken burger, while most of their office mates egged them on to continue selling food in the office.

Ogie and Clarice’s homemade burgers were hitting sales of over a hundred patties a night. That left them weary to the bones, just doing the prep alone. Both realized that if they kept working at such a pace every single night for a month, they might no longer be alive to see another graveyard shift—a funny yet morbid realization that convinced them to quit their jobs and start a snack business right in front of their house in Nakpil.

Cuervorito is a Mexicanthemed restaurant and a term of endearment for their only child Cuervo. Cuervo is a special child with special needs, encouraging the couple to work double time to provide for their child’s well-being.

The snack restaurant opens daily except for Saturdays, which is a rest day for the crew. Ogie and Clarice are hands-on proprietors who lead a lean and mean crew who usually double as grillers, delivery crew and help in the kitchen.

During the pandemic, the burger restaurant was forced to temporarily close until demand from loyal customers spurred the snack joint to accept orders through a cloud kitchen. Ogie and Clarice were forced to close their smaller branches over the shifting lockdown policy. They have not reopened the branches yet, as overhead costs and labor issues remain a concern for the couple. When the restaurant is short on crew, Ogie’s mother and brother help out.

One good thing about Cuervorito is that the restaurant has been delivering food for free in and around the Nakpil area and nearby parts of Malate from the first day it opened.

Ogie, who developed a keen taste for good food from his days as an OFW with expertise in telecommunications and IT, crafted most of the burger recipes. Cuervorito’s very first burger—a quarter-pounder which cost only P50 when they first opened the restaurant-was a monstrous hit.

Cuervorito’s quarter-pounder is the truest quarter-pounder burger there is, complete with all the ingredients and garnishing of a hotel gourmet burger, but bigger in taste as the restaurant uses aioli dressing, not catsup or plain mayo.

To this day, the burger restaurant is serving eight different kinds of craft burgers—chicken fillet burger, barbecue, quarter pounder, belly button, bacon cheese burger, chili cheese burger, teriyaki burger and double patty burger. Customers have an option for fried or grilled burgers.

The restaurant uses freshly made patties every day and a bun specifically made for Cuervorito by a supplier who bakes artisanal breads and pastries.

“We chanced upon this supplier at the weekend market in Makati. At first, we’re using special sesame buns, but later on, we asked our supplier to craft oatmeal buns which we think is more suitable for our burgers,” Clarice said, adding that the buns are a bit sweet to contrast the saltiness of the patties.

Despite its lean crew, Cuervorito’s menu is extensive. From craft burgers, the restaurant also offers rice meals and side dishes like skin-on potato wedges carved straight from fresh potatoes. The couple also sells proprietary sauces and spices to customers who have developed a yearning for their homemade preparations.

“We noticed that the sauces and spices are always missing from the tables. To keep customer from bringing them home, we decided to commercialize our sauces, but of course, they are for free when you dine in,” Clarice said, noting that the restaurant is also slowly taking the path to product innovation.

Othel V. Campos Full story at www. manilastandard.net

PRIVATE SECTOR, GOV’T TEAM UP TO PROMOTE URBAN FARMING FOR FOOD SECURITY

THE MAGGI Sarap Sustansya Advocacy, a partnership between the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI) and Nestlé Philippines promotes urban agriculture as an easy and practical way to help Filipino communities achieve food self-sufficiency, while improving their access to and consumption of more plant-based food.

The 3-year partnership, created through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed earlier this year, will enable DA-BPI and MAGGI to jointly conduct skills-building activities on the various ways of growing vegetables at home, or in under-utilized areas of communities, schools and other urban spaces, expanding access to nutritious, delicious and balanced meals using their own homegrown produce.

“Everyone has a role to play in food security, and the key to ensure that Filipinos will always have FAITH - or Food Always in The Home - is to work together. Through this partnership, we can teach more Filipinos to grow their own food by providing proper mentoring and assistance, as well as other forms of support from the government and private partners like MAGGI,” said BPI director Glenn Panganiban.

Expert agriculturists from the BPI will train participants on science-based methods of vegetable crop production in limited spaces while the MAGGI Culinary Team, with guidance from the Pinggang Pinoy food plate model, will share recipes on preparing for meals that are delicious, nutritious and budget-friendly.

“Nestlé Philippines believes in a collaborative approach to building communities, and we are proud to stand alongside the Department of Agriculture in inspiring a farm-to-fork movement among Filipino families and communities. We believe that food security is key to the health of all, and that there’s no better way to build a strong nation than by ensuring that healthy food is accessible to everyone,” ,” said said Nestle Philippines corporate affairs head Joey Uy.

“It was at Security Bank that I felt I would be more taken care of. On top of being hands on, there are readily available loan officers whom I can call anytime, whenever I have concerns and questions about the process and the documents. I was apprised of what was happening every step of the way. I feel like I was treated like a VIP. All thanks to Security Bank—their promise of championing MSMEs is truly more than lip service; they really do deliver, they really champion MSMEs,” she said.

Security Bank recently established its Business Banking Segment (BBS) to specifically serve micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). BBS offers relevant products and services for MSMEs—BML is one of two key loan products and it allows clients to loan up to 80 percent of the appraised value of the collateral. Clients can loan up to P30 million and pay up to 20 years in monthly installments.

CONGLOMERATE OPENS SARDINES MUSEUM TO HELP EDUCATE YOUTH

MEGA Prime Foods, Incorporated (MPFI) inaugurated Mega Sardines Museum’s “Senses of the Sea”, the Philippines’ first state-of-the-art visual experience tour featuring the unique “Catching-to-Canning’’ process.

MPFI chief executive officer Michelle Tiu Lim-Chan stressed the company’s role as a government partner in educating students of all ages by showcasing the company’s best practices and innovations in the canned sardines production, which is considered the best in the country.

“Through this catching-tocanning experience tour, we will be able to effectively set forth our advocacy in becoming a government partner in educating the youth on the real-world experiences and knowledge about the food manufacturing industry. We believe that The Mega Sardines Museum offers experiential learning to students. Lessons of which can become a core memory that simply cannot be found in textbooks and theories,” she said.

The Mega Sardines Museum is expected to stimulate growth in the economy of Batangas and Calabarzon Region as it aims to be become one of the newest tourist attractions in the province and the region, that will spur jobs generation and the development of local enterprises.

During the grand opening of the facility, MPFI signed a partnership agreement with the Department of Tourism Region IV-A (DOT-4A) to include the museum in the DOT Region 4A promotions of tourism in CALABARZON region. The museum will be included in the DOT-4A’s list of must-visit locations in the region and in the recommended itinerary in educational tours for elementary, high school, and college students.