THE Sugbo Mercado Group is eyeing to open within this quarter its fourth food market in Cebu. It will be located in the Cebu Business Park (CBP).
The group’s proprietors announced their new concept will feature at least 15 entrepreneurs selling street food.
Charmaine de Leon, Sugbo Mercado’s finance director, said Wednesday, July 31, 2019, they will occupy a space beside Ayala Center Cebu’s Krispy Kreme store that used to be the location of the TienDa market.
She said they hope to launch the “street food” market by September 2019.
The group aims to showcase Cebu’s famous street foods through this new concept.
Expansion
The food market operator is also planning to build in 2020 its fifth concept, which will be an indoor and air conditioned food hall set to be located still within the CBP, de Leon said.
Sugbo Mercado currently has three food parks. One is located in Cebu IT Park’s Garden Bloc. Another is located in Lapu-Lapu City. The third park, The Market in Mandaue City, has just completed its first year of operations. The Lapu-Lapu branch opened earlier this year.
John Paul Chiongbian, the group’s managing director, also said part of the group’s plan is to bring the food park concepts to Cebu’s food hotspots in the north and south, citing the cities of Carcar, Naga and Talisay.
Business incubation
Chiongbian pointed out that these food parks have become an incubating venue for budding Cebuano food entrepreneurs.
He said tenants undergo an acceleration program, where The Market serves as a “level-up” platform for those stores that have made great success in their stint at the IT Park branch.
He explained that more than just an incubation hub for entrepreneurs, these food bazaars, which have become go-to places among locals, have also pushed small food entrepreneurs to accelerate their operations.
The idea is to provide these food entrepreneurs the incubation ground where they can test the market, before they eventually decide to enter the mall market and further expand.
“We help these entrepreneurs incubate their food products,” Chiongbian said.
The Sugbo Mercado in Cebu IT Park has over 60 food stalls and enjoys a daily average foot traffic of 5,000. It is open from Thursday to Sunday. The Market, on the other hand, which has a daily average foot traffic of 2,000, operates from Tuesday to Sunday. It has at least 18 tenants. (CSL)