Article from The Indie Culture

That Indie Coffee Shop

Posted by Carla Conde in Restos and Cafes | Comments Off

Jabez Flores - General Manager/Senior Barista at Cafe Antonio

UPLB – known for its diverse student and professional community. From PhD practitioners to BS Party students (who happen to be graceful crammers, wink), it’s been a tough market for establishments such as Café Antonio. People just come and go, so shops that survive in this town for more than 4 years are already called, in Filipino language, “institusyon”.

Café Antonio has been brewing coffee for the UPLB community for more than 4 years now, but it’s not what caught our attention. Of course the coffee is very excellent; every cup reflects ‘Honor and Excellence’ because the shop was started by UPLB graduates.

From time to time, Jabez Flores would let a customer try out a new flavor he’s perfecting. The 25-year-old barista and manager has always been passionate about brewing coffee, giving the customers a warm welcome, and engaging in conversations with them. One UPLB student even remarked that, ‘even though I have recently met these people and I just came in to read a book, mapapatambay talaga ako dito’ (I’m compelled to stay). This is one reason why, even amidst the changing people in UPLB, the café maintained its name.

Cafe Antonio at the new location

Canton recently moved to another site, from the prominent LB Square to a location farther from the university, at Maahas, where it became neighbor to one of our favorite fine-dining restaurants in LB, Arla. But, the café never changed its indie feel. The secluded ambiance made it more possible to relax in the café when you just feel stressed from work and acads. Plus, there are additional surprises on the menu. Baz told TIC that the café is now venturing to tourists and professionals as the café’s target market; still, he hopes that there would be jeepneys having a College-Bay route so students could get a single, straight ride to the cafe.

One more thing that won the hearts of the UPLB community is the trademark of the café as home for the Indie bands in LB. Café Antonio Sessions became a helpful stage for Indie bands and artists to showcase their music and get to know each other, making the Indie music scene stronger. It’s not only the stage, but also the support that the musicians give each other, that makes Café Antonio sessions an effective way to bridge the gap. There will still be sessions in the new site, and there are new names up for the show.

For more tidbits about Café Antonio, you can like them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cafe-Antonio/123163690283

Also, watch out for the exclusive interview of Cafe Antonio on our YouTube channel. click here. http://www.youtube.com/user/theindieculture

coming soon is an in depth and exclusive feature of Cafe Antonio out on The Indie Culture magazine.

Source: http://theindieculture.com/2012/that-indie-coffee-shop/