THIS snack house on Bula-Lagao Road in General Santos City is one of the oldest in the city -- it has seen how the city's economy tipped and tumbled in the past 23 years.

Established in 1986 with a capital outlay of only P50,000, the Cookie Factory, which was known before as a simple snack house serving breads, cakes, and pastries, has grown and is now known for its oriental, Japanese, and even Thai food.

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Owned and managed by couple Ramon "Mony" Munda and Carolina "Baby" Munda, Cookie Factory also accepts catering services and supplies snacks to different hotels in the city.

The birth of Cookie Factory came after the interest and passion of Baby, who loved baking even if she was still single.

Baby said that in 1986, Cookie Factory was the only commercial establishment seen on Bula-Lagao Road. The place, she said, was personally owned by her husband's family. Her husband was the grandson of General Paulino Santos.

"When we started, kami pa lang ang may commercial establishment dito. We started with a bakery, we only had three tables. This was only a small place," Baby recounted.

The freshness of home-baked cookies, bread, and goodies made the customers of Cookie Factory to keep on coming back, she said.

"We really maintain the quality of our products and we also give personalized service to customers since I am here all the time," Baby said.

As years went by and as competition became stiffer, Baby was challenged to improve what they could give to customers. By the time, she entered a culinary school which enabled her to improve the products they offer and also innovate other food that they now serve.

"What I want is to come up with a signature recipe that would identify Cookie Factory. Now, I am focused on three recipes (which she failed to identify)," she said.

Cookie Factory is now serving Japanese food, Thai food, and Filipino native food such as tuna, panga, and others.

"Pag may dumadating na bagong restaurant, nacha-challenge ako to improve what we have here. I try to make innovations sa pagkain," she said, adding that the long years that she has stayed with such kind of business is an advantage on how to keep the business going.

Cookie Factory has four chefs, but all the recipes are product of Baby's "imagination."

Now, Baby and her husband are considering renovation of the place, since the restaurant will be hit by a road widening project of the local government.

Baby, on the other hand, said mismanagement is one of the factors that could lead to business failure. She advises young entrepreneurs to focus on what business they may want to establish.

"They should have passion on whatever business they want to establish. Also, young entrepreneurs should really study the business they want to go into. They also have to consider their financial capacity," she said.