Catching Up with the Top Honchos of Sugbo Mercado at Tin Gow
Phenomenal! That is how I describe Sugbo Mercado. This food market concept has been a game changer in the food industry here in Cebu. I recently had a chitchat with Sugbo Mercado's Michael Karlo Lim and JP Chiongbian at Tin Gow Restaurant at the Waterfront Cebu and they bared the mouthwatering plans of Sugbo Mercado for the coming months. I got pretty pumped after hearing about their intention to expand to other regions.
Sugbo Mercado started last year as an experiment to activate some open spaces in the Cebu IT Park. After overcoming some birth pains, the concept has expanded to Cebu Business Park and both Sugbo Mercado locations have become certified food trip hotspots.
The weekend food market has launched several businesses that became solid local food brands. Some stall concepts even opened stand-alone branches elsewhere like Papa Churros, Tahotally, Lord of the Ribs, Etc. Sugbo Mercado has become a platform for many food entrepreneurs to try out different concepts and let the Cebuano market decide its fate.
So far so good.
Sugbo Mercado's Continuing Growth
While enjoying some delicious Chinese specialties of Tin Gow like their Peking Duck, JP Chiongbian told us the short history of Sugbo Mercado. He is also bared that they are opening up another site this coming weekend. The 3rd branch of Sugbo Mercado will be located at the South Road Properties inside the Il Corso property of Filinvest. The new branch is called Sugbo Mercado SRP and it will feature new food stalls and some of our old favorites.
After SRP, the group is also planning to open in Mandaue and Mactan in the next two months. Michael Karlo Lim added that they will temporarily stop at 5 as they want to pursue expansion across the seas. Sugbo Mercado will be coming to places like Ilo-Ilo, Davao and even in Metro Manila in 2017.
Lim added that for Christmas, the group is also organizing a bazaar. The bazaar is dubbed as "Holiday Haven Bazaar". It will run from November 17 to December 23. The bazaar is open to lifestyle and non-cooking food concessionaires. It will be the perfect place to do your Christmas shopping for gifts that you will give to loved ones, manitos, and manitas. They still have slots for those who like to sell some stuff in the bazaar. If you are interested you may email them at info@sugbomercado.com or call them at 0917-7727077.
Tin Gow As a Meeting Place
The meeting was quick and easy. Tin Gow made it more enjoyable. I really feasted on the duck dishes there. I would really recommend this place for small meetings or even family gatherings. The food was great, the ambiance was solid, and the staff was really attentive to our needs.
Event at Sugbo Mercado IT Park
It will be one busy weekend for the Sugbo Mercado team as they will have three branches plus a bazaar that will be opening this weekend. I will be at Sugbo Mercado IT Park on Saturday for the launch of Chinese beer TsingTao. If you are there, let us match this beer with some of our Sugbo Mercado favorites and let me know what you think.
I am a big fan of Sugbo Mercado and I hope that the brand will continue helping start-ups in Cebu and the rest of the country. Check Sugbo Mercado this weekend at IT Park, CBC, and SRP. Do not forget to say hi if you see me there! ;)
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