TYPICALLY in restaurants, coffee shops, and cafes, people drink, eat, chat or hunch in their respective laptops, iPads, or smartphones doing whatever they do in their devices.
However, have you ever seen a cafe where you can not only study like in a library but also take a nap like in a Sit and Rest (that massage chair thingy)?
Librewry Cafe is a combination of a library and a cafe in one setting that serves meals, brewed coffee (thus, the name), drinks, and offers its customers the opportunity to relax and take a nap.
Located in Hallasgo building, Pabayo-Tirso Neri Street, Cagayan de Oro City, Librewry Cafe is a family-owned business established in 2016.
According to Kendric Kynan Flores, the cafe started from a feasibility study of his brother: Philip Robert.
“It’s a feasibility study of my brother. It’s also an idea coming from Manila. He thought ‘how about bringing something different in Cagayan de Oro,’ which is at the end interesting,” Kendric said.
Kendric said their initial target customers are the college students from the nearby university but it shifted to professionals and graduate studies students.
“Mainly its students talaga pero (but) all of sudden, it suddenly shift to professionals, graduate studies so yun mga (the) law students ang naging usual namin, yung mga nag masters, yung mga after-5 work (are our usual customers, those who take master’s degree and also after-5 workers). They use our space as an extension of their offices,” Kendric said.
The cafe's walls have bookshelves filled with books that are free to read by its customers. It also has extension cords for them to plug in their chargers in case of low battery laptops and smartphones.
“Number one din na selling-point namin is yung (Also our number one selling-point here is), you can nap everywhere here. Sa (In the) lobby sofa, pwede kang mag nap dun, pwede rin sa (you can take a nap there, even in the) inner sofa dito sa loob (inside). Anywhere, kahit sa malit na garden-garden namin. Kasi (even in the garden-like space that we have. Its because) we believe that after a stressful day, you really need a nap or something to relax your mind,” Kendric said.
The best-selling foods in Librewry Cafe are its buffalo wings and ramen, which is a hit for its customers. Best-selling drinks, meanwhile, are the cafe's matcha and brewed coffee, which is made from coffee beans grown by the local farmers of Bukidnon.
The cafe also serves brain food such as chocolates and nuts.
It is also open 24/7, an ideal place to rest and dine for those who work in a graveyard shift.
Kendric also mentioned that in 2 to 3 years, they are planning to expand their business first in Cagayan de Oro, then outside the metro.
“We look forward to outside the metro like Bukidnon, local to local muna (first), then going out to Visayas, which is Cebu and maybe Bohol. As part of our futuristic plan,” he said.