LEILA'S CAFE

I confess: I’ve been a crappy blogger.

Now, I can list a whole myriad of reasons why and actually make you believe I’ve been such a good girl for making the most of my provincial life or maybe even make you believe that it's still a boring life that there’s nothing to blog about, but it all falls down to I’ve been procrastinating because I don’t know where to start and quantify which seemingly mundane news would be blog-worthy. But it’s done, so time to rehash and update. Today, I’ll be posting a few blogs to update what’s happened since August 12, 2010.

I confess: I’m now an entrepreneur.

I put up a business. Yes, after much deliberation, convincing myself I can and nearly depleting my mother’s “Janina’s marriage fund”, I came up with a quaint café near Crisologo st. named Leila’s Café.

Leila’s Café is named after my maternal grandmother, Leila Aguilar-Singson. I remember telling her about naming the café after her and being the kind-hearted woman that my grandmother is, she humbly said she was happy for me but asked if my Nanay (paternal grandmother) would feel bad if I named it after her. Now of course I do not love my Nanay any less, but putting up a café and naming it after my lola Leila just came so naturally.

When we were younger, I remember so vividly my siblings and I living in La Vista with our grandmother. Good food would always be on our dining table, nothing spectacular, fancy or stiff, but always made with love--which of course made the food DIVINE. Even on days she did not feel like cooking, she’d still be in the kitchen supervising her cook to ensure my siblings, our cousins and I would have a variety of dishes to choose from and full tummies to rub after every meal. Even when we’d just be visiting, she’d always have merienda on the table, and when we’d be playing in my brother’s room when he stayed in La Vista for a few years in college, she’d gently knock on the door with a bag or tray of treats for us.

My grandmother, Leila Singson (in the center), is always mistaken as a former movie star.

And that was what I wanted to embody, a place to call home away from home, with food that offered no pretensions—only comfort and made with love—the same way our lola was, like a giant hug everytime she enters the room. And so, Leila’s Café was born:

We filled the space with pictures of our lola Leila

We also incorporated antiques from my mom’s and my lola’s collections, refurbished them to update their looks

We mostly serve crepes, sandwiches, coffee and all day breakfast items. I’m also in the process of updating our menu to provide more variety in our offerings. So far, starting this business has been such a great experience and I learn so much from my friends and family who own restaurants and cafes too.

So if you’re ever in Vigan City, please visit us and let us share with you the Lola Leila hospitality we’ve grown to love!

A vicinity map of Leila’s Café, my first full-time business venture.