Corporate man finds success in own 'pinoy merienda' biz

If you feel like being choked up by too much westernization, then you need a place that will perfectly stimulate your pinoy mood.  It’s the “Kubo” Pinoy Merienda.

As its name apparently tells, Kubo opens the return of the typical Filipino “merienda”.  Situated at the upper ground-floor of SM City Cebu, Kubo is renowned for its distinctive Filipino ambiance that caters an array of Filipino merienda which will take you back from the time where you had your vacation at your grandmother’s home. 

From budbud, biko, puto, kutsinta and the like, this little cozy restaurant gives you a mouth-watering experience of the various native pinoy delicacies.

Just like any other food establishments, Kubo has gone a very long way before it came to its birth.  Mr. David Aurio, the brain behind the conceptualization of this restaurant, has never thought of coming up with this kind of restaurant before.  Graduated Bachelor of Computer Science at the University of San Jose-Recoletos, who would expect that this man will venture into food business?

This pious and church devoted man has experienced much of the corporate world before he created his own.  He worked as a sales and medical representative before.  And for a time, worked in a bank and was once an operations manager of a franchise of Julie’s Bakeshop.  But then, having this long-term experience in the corporate world, he has came into the realization of coming up with his own business that is close to his heart.

After a thorough study, David came up with the Kubo, a native pinoy restaurant which has a little touch of contemporary furnishings.  Basically, the restaurant offers a light meal serving the traditional Filipino merienda such as budbud, biko, kutsinta, pitsi-pitsi, palitao, puto cheese and leche flan.  They also dish up a much heavier course like arroz caldo, batchoy, dinuguan with puto and the infamous binignit.  Yet, not to disregard the very pinoy beverages like coffee barako and sikwate. And, Ooops! The price is undoubtedly reasonable.  Ranging from 30 to 60 pesos only, the foods are definitely affordable to people from all walks of life. It’s definitely the best place for you to unwind and relax with your family and friends in its comfortable emblematic Filipino atmosphere.

Presently, Kubo is successfully operating three years now.  It has continued to wrestle with its competing food establishments which also offer similar menu.  Nevertheless, they never compromise the quality and taste of their food just to overthrow their competitor.  On the other hand, Kubo is planned to be branching out next year.  David is hopeful to that plan considering that they still have lots of expenses to maintain.

And the formula of his very successful business? Passion. “..I learned to cook at a tender age..and unknowingly, mao to akong passion diay..I’ve worked in a lot of jobs pero mo-end up ra diay ko sa akong passion..”  David believes that if you work for your passion, you will not hold any hesitations and reservations within yourself because you firmly know what you are doing and that would basically develop confidence to your business.

“ Advice lang nako..sa business, kinahanglan you put your heart on it..”  Truly, if you have this kind of outlook then you’ll surely see your business at the peak of its success.