3 local restos open new branches

THREE homegrown Cebuano restaurants have opened their newest branches in SM Hypermarket Cebu in Subangdaku, Mandaue City.

Conching’s Native Chicken, A-One Tinola ug Sinugba, and Cebu Lechon Belly opened last Friday in a 160 square-meter al fresco dining space in SM Hypermarket Cebu.

SM Hypermarket store manager Angelo G. Carandang said the new offering is part of the store’s plans to bring in additional services to its customers on top of groceries, appliances and other home essentials.

“We want to provide a shopping and of course, dining experience to our customers,” Carandang said.

Each restaurant can accommodate 32 persons. There is a common dining area, near the main entrance, which can accommodate guests of the same number.

Since Dec. 13, Carandang said the number of store goers has increased daily. He said he expects the traffic will grow until January, in time for the Sinulog.

He said the new locators will also attract more people to the area.

Noting them as Cebu’s signature food, it will draw in locals and tourists alike, in the same way the restaurants themselves have attracted a large number of guests in their Cebu branches.

Conching’s Native Chicken, which has been in the business for almost 50 years now, is a popular destination for those who want native barbeque chicken.

Concepcion Pia Layam, the 80-year old owner, said Conching’s is the longest-running native barbeque chicken restaurant in Cebu. It started operating in 1968 with its first stall in Taboan.

Its first set of local buyers were Chinese businessmen who had businesses in Taboan, to whom Layam personally delivers the barbeque chicken at their doorstep.

“We always use native chicken, that’s half the secret. The rest is our family’s trade secret,” Layam said.

The owner said they now sell an average of 200 roasted chicken a day in each of their stores in Cebu, Davao and Dumaguete.

Conching’s main restaurant is near the Honda Cars Cebu Showroom on A. Soriano Ave. in Cebu City which can accommodate more than 200 people. The menu has also expanded to include crabmeat, pochero and balbacua.

Meanwhile, A-One Tinola has said that aside from its newest expansion in SM Hypermarket, it will also open one next year in Tubigon, Bohol, said one of the owners, Esmerelda Paca.

Paca is one of the daughters of the couple who started the small streetside barbecue stall in Pier 3 operating beside a lumber establishment named A-One. Since then, goers used to associate them with such name.

A-One Tinola is also popular for their freshly-grilled tuna, squid, and marlin.

Cebu Lechon Belly, the first Cebu-based lechon house, has also located in SM Hypermarket. It currently has 30 branches nationwide.

In the first quarter of next year, Carandang said the third SM Hypermarket Cebu will open in Mactan.

At present, there are two hypermarket branches in Cebu, one in Subangdaku and the other in A.S. Fortuna.

SM Hypermarket is a “free standing, stand alone store,” which offers a wider inventory compared to SM Supermarket and SM Savemore, the official said. There are now 42 SM Hypermarkets nationwide.

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