Brewing in the middle of the greens and the side of the south road in the city, The Hive Café is situated along the right side of the south road bound to Barangay Irawan at the Caltex gasoline station. It is one of the new go-to places of the students who seek to have a different scenery for a quick review of lessons as well as for travelers who want to grab a coffee-to-go as they venture the long road to their destination.
Origin of “The Hive”
The café’s owner is Natasha Mendoza, a graduate of Palawan State University – Hospitality Management, also managed to work abroad in the field of her course, studied culinary, and took her internship in the States thereafter. Coming from a family with food businesses, it had also inspired her to take the same venture—this time, a coffee shop.
She also shared a little background of the shop’s name origin, saying that although their café product is not about honey, as to relate with bees, they have chosen to stick with “hive” to describe the union of bees in an area.
“Nanggaling talaga siya sa “beehive”, pero since di rin naman about honeys yung pinoproduce namin, we shortened it na lang sa “hive” which is yung kumpul-kumpulan ng mga bees. Yung concept lang din talaga ng café is para may mapupuntahan yung mga tao, which is to meet-up,” she said.
Before brewing for the public
In establishing the business, Natasha became vocal about only planning it for a month, the same month when they were introduced to the idea of renting the other half of the Tiger Mart for the café, proceeding to test a soft-opening of the area in mid-February.
“One-month lang kasama na yung pag-construct nung building. January lang samin sinabi, then parang nagtry na kaming mag-build dito ng mga February, then nung mga February kasi, sabi mag-try ring mag soft-opening para makita rin yung mga nawawala,” said Natasha.
“Mid-February, nagtry kaming mag-open na, pero wala pa kaming kitchen, wala pa kaming food. More on coffees lang talaga.” she added.
She also shared about some minor setbacks that they have encountered upon building the area, more of about the quantity of chairs and tables since they will be sharing the area with a mini grocery on the side, courtesy of Tiger Mart.
“Nung una kasi, medyo ano kami sa space, kasi nga ang onti ng chairs, tables, ganyan, pero lahat naman ng tables namin na ‘to is from Tiger Mart na eh, okay na din. Sinabi rin nila na yung likod, sakop rin naman ng dining from Tiger Mart to Hive mismo,”
Later, the owner also embraced the setup since they are also planning to extend the tables on the front part of the café, an Al Fresco setup, wherein customers may directly order from the inside, pay, and bring their food outside to catch fresh air and appreciate the godsent beauty of nature in the city.
Target customers, best-sellers, activities, and gimmicks
Even before the pandemic has come to disrupt everyone’s plans, there are already several ‘coffee shop enthusiasts’ who go from different zones to get a sip of various coffees that may be suitable to their taste. Then to now that we are still on limited face-to-face classes wherein the half of the class are given the chance to report to school, while the other half gets to go on the next day, vice versa, depending on the policy of the school. Those students who are left at home to study, also tends to seek a stable spot for a good internet connectivity and a quiet ambience to study.
As for The Hive Café, their place is often a meet-up spot for people who are bound to travel in the south, some for the north, since the new terminal is situated there too.
“Ako kasi hindi rin ako napapapunta dito sa area since taga bayan kami. Ang dami na rin palang mga nakatira dito tapos sila na rin yung pumupunta na parang tuwang-tuwa sila na meron na ring café dito, so adds up rin sila sa market namin. Hindi namin inexpect,” the owner said.
In terms of their best-seller products, Natasha said that they are focusing more on the crafting of coffees such as lattes, and that they also do Iced Fruit Teas occasionally. For the pastries, she also said that there are some items coming from their suppliers, the others are from her own recipes. Additionally, she said that they have also come open to possible consignees who lets them try some of their goodies, and if they come to like it, they also permit them to supply to their shop. They have also come in-sync with how people are starting to become health-conscious, that is why they also managed to display low-carb cakes to enjoy.
Unlike any other businesses, it is evident that they also also have a little gimmick for their shops, as Filipinos are a great fan of entertainment. Bound to summer, Natasha seeks to cater a workshop wherein people may come to paint little clay pots that may be displayed in the café’s vicinity.
“Siguro pag ano, magpapa-workshop din kami since marami ring mga halaman, nag-iisip ako, pero hindi pa namin napaplano talaga, is parang magpi-paint ng mga pots, mga clay pots,”
“Then, siguro contest for that since para mapalitan rin yung ibang pots dito. At least pag may mga tao (pwede nila maturo na) “Uy, gawa ko ‘to,” mga ganun,”
For the whole Caltex compound, Natasha says that they sole owners are planning to designate playgrounds behind the shops, but that is all the details for now.
In starting a business
Natasha advises people that upon planning to establish a business, it is important for them to ‘get out of their comfort zones’ and to get an experience from the venture that they are planning to take. Not necessarily to also study and work abroad, but to focus more into knowing how to negotiate with people, how a business flows, and to canvass for the possible expenses that they will be having to capitalize their business. Furthermore, she also believes that an own experience towards something is better than to just solely plan it.
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