Gapan cafe captures hearts of NEcija customers

THE new year signals a clean slate and a fresh start for many, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that are now ready to take on the challenges and changed tastes of a post-pandemic, consumer-driven market.

Such is the situation now confronting a newly opened, Gapan-based cafe Taste & Brew that is actually being “remotely run,” thanks to fiber-powered internet by Converge.

Gapan cafe captures hearts of NEcija customers

For proprietor Vheng Roberto, the MSME of today cannot cheap out on technology. In her case, she is also a full-time and Manila-based employee aside from being a business owner. She is able to run her businesses in Nueva Ecija only through remote surveillance and management.

“I’m in Nueva Ecija every weekend. I just check the staff, kitchen and bar via CCTV. That’s the reason why the first thing I installed here is internet so I can monitor everything. That helped even when I’m afar I can supervise the customer service,” she said, adding it is this way how she can attend to diners even when in Manila and can make the suggestions to her staff.

A strong, fiber-based connection is needed to power her CCTV system, which is installed in her two businesses — a restaurant called Heavenly Taste in Pambuan, Gapan and Taste & Brew nearer the town center in San Lorenzo, Gapan.

Taste & Brew, which just opened in December 2023, is what she fondly calls a “kapamilya,” a cafe that draws whole families together, not just the solitary patron.

A Wi-Fi connection is a non-negotiable for a small business, and this proves to be a good investment too for the cafe. Students and remote workers often hang out in her cafe so she has to secure a seamless internet connection provided by Converge.