WITH the number of local and international coffee brands that have been popping up amid residential neighborhoods and commercial spaces—from home-based coffee brewers to pop-up and mobile coffee bars—Cebu is no stranger to the coffee scene.
Another great addition to this growing list that not only offers fine brews but also contributes to the coffee culture with its vision is Brick & Brew. This new place offers a relaxing and homey ambiance, even when located on a busy street like R.R. Landon in Cebu City.
Brick & Brew was built with a vision of creating a community of coffee enthusiasts in order to spread proprietor Vic Montebon’s shared appreciation of coffee to others. As a person who wanted to start his own business, Vic believed what better way to begin than to go back to what he loves, which is coffee.
“I worked for a coffee company before, and it piqued my interest. Since then, I have become an enthusiast. Coffee for me is more than just a drink. It enables me to know and connect with others which is something that I highly enjoy,” said Vic.
Supporting local farmers is a big part of Brick & Brew’s thrust.
“We are team Support Local. Our beans are locally produced.”
The 40-seater coffee shop offers a variety of beverages both caffeinated and non-caffeinated using Arabica, Robusta and Excelsa coffee beans; pastries, sandwiches, all-day breakfast food and rice meals—all handcrafted and prepared fresh daily.
With the main goal of creating a connection through a cup of coffee, Brick & Brew is the epitome of a “tambayan” (hangout) with its “beautiful mess” aesthetic, as Vic and his friends described it.
“I wanted to be as sustainable and cost efficient as possible, so most of the furniture and interior were readily available. These were cleaned, polished, and reused, good as new.”
As for its name, it was inspired by Vic’s interests: triathlon and coffee. The word “brick,” according to him, refers to a type of training wherein you do two disciplines, back-to-back without rest. “Thus, Brick & Brew came to be.”
Brick & Brew is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays.