“Our landlord needs the space,” said Corner Tree owner Chiqui Sy-Quia Mabanta in a post. “We were their last tenants to leave.”
Establishing and sustaining a vegetarian restaurant for a decade and a half is no easy feat, more so for Filipinos who love their meat (and their fast food!) and for an owner with no formal business background.
As messages of support and warm reminiscences continue to fill social media, InsiderPH caught up with Chiqui — whose siblings run Cafe Mediterranean and Mexicali, where she's a partner in the latter — to find out how Corner Tree came about and to gather some of the lessons she has learned along the way.
Discovering vegetarian cuisine
It was while in London in the 1990s and through her sister that Chiqui first got exposed to vegetarian food, which she immediately found to be “simple yet masarap.”
In the city known for Big Ben, the River Thames, and not to mention fish and chips, vegetarian dining was mainstream, well prepared and chef-y, opening Chiqui's eyes.
“It made me see things in a different light,” she says.
Upon her return, she began exploring the possibility of starting her own vegetarian restaurant, even as Filipinos were not yet quite open to the idea.
“When we think of vegetarian cuisine, we think it's boring, light, and just limited to salads,” Chiqui points out.
Leap of faith
As she was turned down by major malls and other landlords around the Makati central business district, Chiqui, who has a psychology background, used the Legaspi Sunday Market to test the waters, opening a stall called Cutting Veg after conducting food tasting sessions with friends.
It was a slow start but the real opportunity came when the space on Jupiter Street where Corner Tree stands became available.
However, getting the location was difficult.
“There was an existing restaurant and we had to wait before the owner finally called back,” she says.
And the early struggles didn't end there. With a space now secured, her initial partners got cold feet. Thankfully, her sister and a friend filled in and Corner Tree, which gets its name from the huge tree on the lot, opened for business in 2009.
Word gets around
In no time, despite early skepticism from naysayers, word on Corner Tree spread fast and Chiqui found herself being featured and interviewed left and right.
“And this was all before Instagram and Tiktok,” Chiqui says.
She also credits kind-hearted individuals, among them Buddhists and foreign guests, some describing her food as “beautiful”, for the jumpstart she needed.
As a result, Chiqui says recouped her initial in a short year and a half, “without conducting a feasibility study and relying solely on gut-feel.”
Gaining recognition
With business humming along as Corner Tree became a popular date place and watering hole for expats, recognition started pouring in from the likes of the Miele Guide and Tatler Dining.
Promoters of foreign concert acts also turned to Corner Tree for their catering needs.
What Chiqui is proudest of, however, was when the French Embassy, whose officials were regular patrons, selected Corner Tree as the dinner venue graced by no-less than the French Prime Minister's wife, Mme. Brigitte Ayrault.
Pandemic, changing culture
The pandemic, Chiqui admits, took a heavy toll on her business as the food and beverage industry was among those hardest hit.
A branch at Powerplant Mall in Rockwell had to be closed and the expats and Asian Development Bank (ADB) folk who were regulars and her captive market began to leave the country.
She noticed that the culture began to change as well.
“People shifted to the malls and the Jupiter area became less of an accessible destination,” Chiqui says.
Moreover, people began turning to food delivery apps which take a big cut and is therefore less profitable.
Thankfully, other opportunities have since emerged such as bagging canteen concessions at the International School Manila and the ADB, both of which are doing well.
Lessons learned, looking ahead
For now, as Chiqui takes a breather and contemplates on what lies ahead, Corner Tree will focus on its cloud kitchen in Poblacion where people can still order for delivery.
And if there's anything she has learned all these years as a restaurateur, it is that one must have a real passion for food and one should be open to consulting others who have more experience and know-how.
Patience and perseverance is key, too.
And who knows? Corner Tree might just reopen, and we can all have our fill of beautiful vegetarian fare once again.
Features Reporter
