Lumber trader ventures into "Happy Meals" biz

CEBU, Philippines - Seeing the growing potential of the North Reclamation Area for startup businesses as it has become a preferred spot for entrepreneurs, a businesswoman originally engaged in the lumber business decided to venture into the food sector strategically locating her food court at the area.

Lumber company owner Sally Uy decided to put up the “Happy Meals Plaza” at her 1,250 square meter property at P. Larrazabal Avenue, North Reclamation Area.

The new food plaza is home to 17 different food stalls that offer varied dishes not found anywhere in Cebu.

Uy shared that she initially wanted to start a place filled with barbecue stalls, similar to “Larsian” found near Fuente Osmeña Circle. However, after she learned that a lot of businesses were starting to locate in the area considering that one of Cebu’s biggest university is located on the same street where the plaza is found, she decided to improve the concept into a bigger food court.

She also said that she wanted to put up a place that would be visited for specialty foods by tourists and locals alike, wherein the place could seat until 200 persons.

Aurelio Servando, the food court consultant said that they were very particular on screening the interested tenants and chose companies that are known for their specialties at affordable prices. He also said that they made sure that the food offerings would be unique since they wanted it to be different from other food courts.

Servando said that with even P50, customers could already have a taste of different dishes from the stalls with authentic specialties from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

He said that they made sure that the price ranges were customer-friendly and the quality of the food was still good since they know that Cebuanos are wise-spenders.

Also they assure of freshness of the food at all times since they stressed this on the tenants and have imposed strict penalties on this matter.

Aside from varying dishes like pizza, BBQ, dessert, and others from companies that are even new players in Cebu, a coffee shop, a convenience store, and an internet café is also found in the plaza.

But for those with laptops or could have internet connections in their phones, “Happy Meals Plaza” also offers unlimited WiFi connection that could be accessed in the whole area after you purchase from any of the stalls which would give you the password.

Live acoustic bands would also be playing chill and house music during weekends and customers with vehicles should not worry about parking if they would want to check out the place since the area has spacious parking lots.

Since the new opening of the plaza, the different food stores will be offering promos for their customers, said Promotions Head Jim Uy who said that their customers would be enjoying discounts and others offered by the stalls.

Making “Happy Meals Plaza” true to what it is dubbed as “Where the happiest people meet and dine!” they assure to serve only the best with even more surprises along the way.