Resto widens its reach at mall

THE food scene in Cebu is constantly expanding. Even homegrown restaurants that used to be in small corners are moving to malls, a sign of confidence in the Cebuanos’ expanding palate.

Portos Diner and Grille owner Neil Labrador believes migrating to malls is a good idea, especially for a homegrown restaurant that wants to widen its customer reach and offer more food choices to all types of markets.

“We are doing so well in our flagship branch on Escario St. for the past five years. We had a good following. But, we needed to move out of that comfort zone and embark on a new journey for the business to grow,” said Labrador, a car racer.

Portos Diner and Grille opened this year at the SM Seaside City. This is their first mall-based location that can accommodate around 65 customers.

The family’s penchant for food made them venture into food and beverage (F&B). Labrador’s wife, Love Love is a chef. She conceptualized the restaurant’s menu, making it both appealing to local and foreign taste buds.

The homegrown restaurant is known for its fusion of Mexican and American comfort food, priced at pocket-friendly rates.

The restaurant is named after the Portuguese word “porto,” which meants port. Some of its bestsellers are its babyback ribs, steak and seafood linguini.

“We are serving good quality food at a good price, plus excellent customer service. Despite our migration to a mall, we maintain reasonable prices. I think this is what makes us competitive in the F&B industry,” he said, adding that they aren’t intimidated by the presence of giant F&B players because they are a homegrown player that knows the market better.

In the next three years, Labrador said they plan to grow Cebu’s network into five branches by erecting both stand-alone and mall-based outlets.

He is eyeing to spend at least P4 million per branch.

“The robust growth of Cebu is allowing us, local investors, to dream big for our businesses. Our presence here in a mall is just the start of something big,” he said.

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