Food businesses in U-Belt flourish again as pandemic restrictions ease

by Jia Bote and Yllonah Marie Bago

Aside from the prestigious institutions and historical landmarks that line up the University belt, students and even ordinary citizens flock the bustling roads of the U-belt to search for various food and drinks that will hit their sweet spot.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has put a huge dent on local businesses' sales, students take it to social media to share their food experiences and reminisce on the memories they had while eating in U-belt prior to the pandemic.

K&K shake craze

From an outsider’s perspective; it would be difficult to fathom the hype behind a mango shake. There are uncountable food businesses selling fruit shakes, but what makes K&K shakes stand out?

Located in Asturias st. in Sampaloc, Manila, K&K shake sells delicious and affordable fruit shakes.

K&K shake found its way back to the Thomasian crowd when a tweet about one of their best sellers, Mango Bravo, went viral—garnering over a thousand retweets and more than six thousand likes as of writing.

Bea Besario, a third-year legal management student from the university, is shocked by how her tweet gained so much engagement.

“I don’t have a lot of followers din. Kaya ayun, I didn’t really expect the tweet to blow up the way it did,” she said.

Besario also recalled that she discovered K&K shake in 2018 when she was still a senior high school student, and passing by the same stall years later gave her an idea to post about them and their affordable beverages.

“My boyfriend and I just wanted Thomasians to know that they’re back in business; that’s why I posted it on Twitter,” she said.

Because of Besario’s tweet, people started flocking to K&K’s fruit shake and posting their thoughts and experiences on different social media platforms — with students and non-students patiently lining up for an hour or more just to try out their best seller: Mango Bravo.

Mango Bravo is a delectable mango shake with crushed graham crackers and sweetened milk, generously topped with marshmallows, more crushed graham crackers, and a wafer stick to finish it.

Bringing back Barcollie’s

Before the pandemic, food culture in the university belt was already thriving, with students of different programs and backgrounds coming together to share a meal and forget academic workloads and personal responsibilities for a short while.

Barcollie’s has always been that safe space for Thomasian students; that’s why Lanz Nathan John Hernandez, an accountancy student, felt saddened when he passed by an empty Barcollie’s post-pandemic.

“Nalungkot ako kasi pagdating namin don, nakita kong bukas na sila. Ang tagal kong inabangan tapos walang tao. Literal walang tao,” Hernandez recalled, sharing that Barcollie’s used to be crowded before the pandemic.

“Barcollie’s is a very special place for us… It became a middle ground… naging peaceful grounds ng mga political parties, fraternities, minsan admins rin… yun yung place na kahit makita mo yung mga nakaaway mo, ngingitian lang kayo tapos lahat kayo mag-eenjoy kumain don,” he added.

Upon coming back and trying out their food which tasted just like how he remembers it, Hernandez promised the owner of Barcollie’s that he would bring in 50 people back.

“Sabi ni tito Boy (owner of Barcollie’s), “Don’t promise a number. Just tell your friends.” Kaya ayon, pinost ko,” Hernandez said which prompted him to post his experiences on Barcollie’s on Facebook, which unexpectedly gained more than three thousand likes and almost three thousand shares as of writing.

Through that Facebook post, Hernandez did not just bring 50 students back to Barcollie’ but beyond that, with students flocking in and raving about their food and experiences on social media.

Barcollie’s sells silog meals for an affordable price, but they are more known for their crowd-favorite classic fried chicken with unlimited gravy that is sold for P90, and their blueberry cheesecake for only P60 a slice.

The power of social media

Social media is a digital powerhouse in marketing these days.

Knowing how to utilize social media is one way of increasing your marketability and attracting more customers to get to know your business, try your products, and gain their trust to increase the chances of them coming back and being a loyal customer.

Despite not having a large following on Twitter, Besario’s tweet about K&K fruit gained so much engagement that it led to more people posting their Mango Bravos and Mango Supremes on Tiktok and Instagram, which helped K&K attract more customers even if they are not living or studying near the university.

Meanwhile, Hernandez’s Facebook post paved the way for Barcollie’s to bring back their golden days even post-pandemic, with graduates reminiscing about their experiences and new Thomasians eager to try this food spot.

However, despite the immense power of social media, only business owners can sustain the hype and think of newer and more creative approaches to live up to their name and keep the customers flooding in.

Hernandez added that it is important for business owners to create a trusting relationship with their customers to generate longevity in business: providing a warm and welcoming environment and getting to know their old and new customers.

“You can also see this as marketing, pero for me these types of approaches are genuine as far as I’ve experienced,” Hernandez said, recalling how some food business owners around UST were accommodating to their old customers to the point of giving small discounts or free meals as a token of appreciation for bringing in new customers.

“You just [have to] keep on being honest with your food, being generous with your prices and eventually, it will pay off kasi people will come back and bring their friends with them,” Hernandez added.