Behind the Business March 20, 2024

Inventing, Sustaining, and Evolving a Filipino Food Icon, According to Maritel Nievera, President & CEO of Cabalen Group

From the introduction of Kapampangan specialty cuisine to the buffet concept to the launching of international brands, Maritel Nievera, President & CEO of Cabalen Group, retraces her entrepreneurial journey.

Cabalen holds a special place in the lives of Filipinos. It is a place where families gather and celebrate over abundant food, served buffet-style, with specialty dishes that come from Pampanga, the culinary heart of the Philippines. For this reason, Cabalen the restaurant has spread across the country with its ubiquitous presence in malls. And as it has grown over the decades, the restaurant has evolved into a group of companies that not only brings Cabalen to the world but also brings global restaurant brands to the Philippines. Behind this beloved restaurant is a singular entrepreneur: Maritel Nievera, Founder, President and CEO of Cabalen Group of Companies.

The Business Manual visited Maritel at the Glorietta branch of Cabalen and sat down with her to talk about her remarkable success as an entrepreneur. Today, Cabalen restaurants can be found virtually anywhere in the Philippines, all over Metro Manila as well as in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, with 41 branches (and counting). With its incredible staying power for over more than 30 years, the company Maritel built has also expanded beyond Cabalen restaurants. In tune with an ever-changing market, the Cabalen Group of Companies has evolved to give Filipinos a taste of the world.

The group’s growing roster of restaurants includes Thai restaurant Soi, BKK Express, Filipino-Spanish restaurant Cerveseria, Tsurumaru and Suki-Ya . It also covers the entire gamut of dining experiences with a la carte Kapampangan concept Mangan and chef-driven Cusina Estela.

And yet, at its heart, the story of Cabalen is one that is inextricably linked to Maritel’s home, Pampanga, and its famed culinary delights. It is also the story of a woman entrepreneur, a single mother, who challenged larger, established Filipino restaurant chains, and found a place among them as a Filipino food icon.

Kapampangan at Heart

Pampanga is inarguably the heartland of Filipino cuisine. The province lays claim to countless Filipino favorites such as menudo, kaldereta, morcon, embotido, and the list goes on and on with native versions of tocino, longganisa and more. Even sisig, the recent flagship dish of the Philippines, was invented by a Kampampangan from Angeles City, Maritel points out.

Many celebrated Filipino chefs are also from Pampanga and continue to shape the Philippine food landscape, such Chef Sau del Rosario and Chef Claude Tayag. At the same time, even Kapampangans without formal culinary training are well-known for their creations in the kitchen and for their food culture, which is second to none.

It is here, in Angeles City, Pampanga, that Maritel Nievera would, during her childhood, learn, not the restaurant business–not yet at least–but entrepreneurship.

“Nakita ko lola ko [I saw my grandmother],” she recalls, “magluluto ng mga suman tapos she will ask young ibang mga apo niya to sell them. Ilako nila doon sa mga kapitbahay namin. [She would cook suman then she would ask her grandchildren to sell them. She’d tell them to sell them to the neighbors.]”

Maritel’s grandmother was not the only strong role model she would learn from. “And so is my mother during that time [an entrepreneur]. Nandoon pa ang mga Amerikano sa Clark, so siya naman bumibili ng mga PX goods, mga chocolates, American products. Binebenta naman niya. Dinadala niya sa Manila. So yan ang environment nakagisnan ko. [The Americans were still in Clark, so she would buy PX goods, chocolates, American products. She would sell these. She would bring them to Manila. That’s the environment I experienced growing up.]”

Learning from these women entrepreneurs, Maritel naturally began her own small businesses as a child. She would rent out comics to her classmates. In high school she recalls, “I was going to Divisoria with our yaya [nanny] and then sell underwear for my teachers and my classmates. That’s how I started being an entrepreneur.”

The Origin of Cabalen

Soon, Maritel would put these early entrepreneurial lessons into practice. At the same time, she would also learn the restaurant business. And perhaps this experience came earlier than she was prepared for, but she learned the lessons nonetheless.

“I married at the age of 17 years old a guy 10 years older than me,” Maritel recounts. “May restaurant na siya in San Fernando. Ako, Angeles ako. So in San Fernando, meron siyang restaurant na Ang Bahay Pasalubong. When we got married I was forced to run the business with him, so that’s how it started… Doon ako natuto. [He had a restaurant in San Fernando. Me, I was from Angeles. So in San Fernando, he had a restaurant, Ang Bahay Pasalubong. When we got married I was forced to run the business with him, so that’s how it started…That’s where I learned.]”

The hardship of these years took its toll, and the couple eventually separated.

“Yung first marriage ko did not succeed [My first marriage did not succeed],” Maritel says. “It did not last, but maybe because I was young, and then nagka-anak kaming dalawa and I had to be a mother, a teenage mother. And then in Pampanga kasi, mga Kapampangang babae, masisipag. So they end up doing the jobs. [It did not last, but maybe because I was young, and then we had children and I had to be a mother, a teenage mother. And then in Pampanga, Kapampangan women are hardworking. So they end up doing the jobs. For me, that was what I felt. I [always] end up doing the job.]”

From these difficult circumstances, the beginnings of Cabalen were planted, starting with Maritel’s relocation from Pampanga to Manila.

“So after the breakup of the marriage I decided to move to Manila and open the first Cabalen sa Quezon City. So I bought a small property there and opened Cabalen,” Maritel says about the beginning of Cabalen.

“That’s how I started Cabalen, on my own na, as a single mother. And bitbit ko lahat yung buong team ng mga Kapampangan sa likod ng restaurant namin meron kaming house doon, living quarters, mga staff. So yon, we started Cabalen there. [That’s how I started Cabalen, on my own, as a single mother. And I brought my entire Kapampangan team with me who lived behind the restaurant where we had a house that served as the living quarters of the staff. So that’s how we started Cabalen there.]”

Cabalen Kapampangan Specialty Restaurant

In these early days–it was 1986—Maritel was faced with the daunting task of starting a restaurant and creating the formula that would lead her to success. She’s not ashamed to admit to being afraid at the start.

“Natakot ako [I was scared],” Maritel says. “Kasi, nakakatakot talaga, kasi from Pampanga to Manila nandoon na yung mga may mga pangalan na restaurant, may Barrio Fiesta, may Pinausukan, may Kamayan, and they were all doing good and then nung makita ko sila, sabi ko ‘Oh my God, ito yung mga kalaban, ang gagaling.’ [Because it was really scary. Coming from Pampanga to Manila, we now faced the restaurants that had built a name for themselves, Barrio Fiesta, Pinausukan, Kamayan, and they were all doing well. And then when I saw them, I said, ‘Oh my God, this is the competition. They were so strong.’]”

Studying the menus of her competitors, Maritel noticed something: they were serving one kind of food. Knowing the different kinds of food from Pampanga, she saw an opportunity.

Maritel told herself, “Pag babalik ako ng Pampanga, pag-aaralan ko naman yung mga Kapampangan food namin dito sa San Fernando… And also based on my experience in Pampanga, in every town there’s a specialty. So finally I decided I will make it a Kapampangan specialty restaurant so it will be different from the existing competitors. So Cabalen Kapampangan Specialty Restaurant. [When I return to Pampanga I will study our Kapampangan food in San Fernando… And also based on my experience in Pampanga, in every town there’s a specialty. So finally I decided I will make it a Kapampangan specialty restaurant so it will be different from the existing competitors. So Cabalen Kapampangan Specialty Restaurant.]”

These four words would provide the foundation for the success of the restaurant for the next 30 years and beyond. More than just a unique selling point, it also defined a fresh new dining experience that Filipinos hungered for. Maritel explains, “So pag sinabi mong ‘Cabalen Kapampangan Specialty Restaurant,’ it’s very attractive. That’s something unique. Kapag sinabi mong ‘Kapampangan,’ uy, masarap! [So when you say ‘Cabalen Kapampangan Specialty Restaurant,’ it’s very attractive. That’s something unique. Whenever you say ‘Kapampangan,’ hey, that’s delicious.]”

Recipe for Success

Even with the restaurant’s products and concept in place, success didn’t come easily. There was still one missing ingredient: marketing. What’s more, Cabalen would also ride the wave of a trend that was exploding in 80s and 90s: Filipino mall culture.

“In the first few months,” Maritel says, “ [the business was] not really that strong until the late Doreen Yu from Inquirer, kumain doon, hindi ko alam, and then she wrote about it. Ayun na, dinumog na kami, dumami nang dumami ang mga customer. I also saw the importance of marketing. [In the first few months, [the business was] not really that strong until the late Doreen Yu from Inquirer ate there. I didn’t even know, and then she wrote about it. And from there, people came in droves, the number of our customers grew and grew. I also saw the importance of marketing.]”

Soon word spread about Cabalen and customers hungry for the “Cabalen Kapampangan Specialty Restaurant” experience came to the West Avenue restaurant. This included competitors. Maritel relates, “Maraming na-threaten at the time, even the owners of Barrio Fiesta kumain doon [There were many who were threatened at the time. Even the owners of Barrio Fiesta ate [ate at our restaurant].”

More importantly, other customers came to Cabalen, including some who played an important role in the restaurant industry, such as SM Malls.

Maritel says, “That was during the time the first SM City opened. Nakapagbukas kami doon ng delicacies corner. But then all the [leasing executives] kumain sa Cabalen and invited us to open a Cabalen in Megamall. So ‘yan yung start ng Cabalen sa mga mall.” [That was during the time the first SM City opened. We were able to open a delicacies corner there. But then [the SM leasing executives] ate in Cabalen and invited us to open a Cabalen in Megamall. So that was the start of Cabalen in the malls.]

This proved to be a crucial partnership, as mall culture was poised to explode in the Philippines. Afterwards, Cabalen would be a regular part of the mall experience. Maritel remembers, “It started in SM Megamall. Pangalawang restaurant kami na nagbukas on the fourth floor, so… dinumog ng mga tao. So that was the start na naparami namin yung Cabalen. [It started in SM Megamall. We were the second restaurant to open on the fourth floor, so… we were flooded with customers. That was the start of the expansion of Cabalen.]”

Sustaining Growth

As Cabalen rapidly expanded its number of branches, change came to the management of the restaurant. “When we expanded,” Maritel says, “we had to run it professionally, so the professional managers come in.”

What that meant was adhering to five pillars in managing the chain of restaurants. “They call them SCPQ,” Maritel says and then explains the mnemonic for Sales, Cost, People and Quality. “And then I added A,” she continues with pride, for Ambiance. “We set the ambiance. We set the standard.”

For the next few minutes, Maritel launches into the details of managing sales and costs. Clearly, she knows what she is talking about and displays a passion for the details of managing the business.

“People is the people running the show,” she goes on to say. “So we have to have, I call them quality people. But how do you achieve that? In hiring, may qualification standard ka na rine-require from the cook to the dishwasher to the waiter to the janitor. We set all the standards. [In hiring, there are qualification standards that we require from the cook to the dishwasher to the waiter to the janitor. We set all the standards.]”

“Last is the Quality,” she says. “Maraming usapan yung quality: quality food, quality service, cleanliness, maintenance… you have to set the standard and make sure it will be done. [There’s a lot of discussion about quality: quality food, quality service, cleanliness, maintenance… you have to set the standard and make sure it will be done.]”

Another reason for Filipinos to come to Cabalen in droves was the buffet concept. At Cabalen restaurants, not only could they enjoy specialty Kapampangan food, they could eat all they wanted. In fact, the buffet concept has been so successful, it will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026.

Maritel insists the Cabalen buffet posed certain challenges. She says, “Buffet concept was not easy. Kasi luto na eh. Makaksiguro ka bang mapapaubos mo yan ngayon? [[The] buffet concept was not easy. Because it’s already cooked. Can you be sure that the food will be finished today?]”

Maritel found the answer to these challenges in the newfound professionalism of the company and keeping a keen eye on sales and costs. “As I have said, when it’s already a chain, it should be run professionally,” Maritel says. “So when we set the sales, we [also] set the target sales. When you set the target sales, you will set the budget, the food cost.”

She continues, “So hindi siya ganun kadali talaga. Kung hindi mo gagawin yon it’s not easy to… yung profitability niya it will not be easy. Then because of the experience, the professional way of running the business already, nakakapag-cope up kami. Kaya siguro walang nakakatagal na buffet eh. Kami lang naiwan. [It’s really not easy. If you don’t do that, the profitability [of the buffet] will not be easy. Then because of the experience, the professional way of running the business already, we were able to cope. Maybe that’s why other buffets did not last. We are the only ones left standing.]”

Despite having such sustained success thanks to its innovations in the industry, Cabalen never stands still. The restaurant continues to innovate and develop new specialties.

“We have a quarterly promo. We promote new specialties,” Maritel says of the constant innovations of Cabalen. “I think we were one of the first one who promoted the adobong balut. We introduced that during the time of Valentine’s. Parang yung pampalakas ng katawan. [It’s food to improve your endurance.]” She laughs. “Adobong balut was there…”

Cabalen Group Expansion

While the staying power of Cabalen restaurant is remarkable, Maritel, now at the head of the Cabalen Group of Companies, continued to evolve their offerings as the market itself changed. Among these changes was a growing preference for foreign cuisine and foreign restaurant brands.

“We also opened [a] Thai restaurant,” Maritel says. “So around 20 years ago, in Greenbelt 3… It was very successful. Nag-evolve na siya ngayon into Soi. [It has evolved today into Soi.]” Other restaurants would follow until the Cabalen Group had grown an impressive stable that included Soi, BKK Express, Cerveseria, Mangan and Cusina Estela.

“The next concept that we did was Mangan,” Maritel says with pride. “It’s an a la carte [restaurant], but also Kapampangan. Mangan is a Kapampangan word also. Mangan is ‘eat.’”

In 2018, the Cabalen Group acquired the franchise of its first international brand, Tsurumaru. This was soon followed by a global partnership with Suki-Ya of Singapore.

Maritel continues, “We added also global brands [because of the need to] innovate. The changing, evolving ambiance ng mga malls ngayon, they like global brands.”

Even with the expansion of Cabalen Group into different dining experiences and different cuisines, Cabalen continues to grow. In 2013, Cabalen went international by opening a branch in San Bruno, California, and now has plans of expanding into Dubai. In the Philippines, Cabalen is also expanding through franchising, an opportunity that Maritel discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For franchising, we’re very much into franchising Cabalen all over the Philippines,” she says. “Actually nung COVID, yung mga franchise Cabalen outside Metro Manila they were able to survive because in Metro Manila dito naka-focus ang COVID noon diba? [Actually during COVID, the Cabalen franchises outside Metro Manila were able to survive. Because COVID was focused in Metro Manila, right?] And they closed down the business and the economy more in Metro Manila than the provinces. So yeah, we’re franchising it.”

Advice for Entrepreneurs

For her work with Cabalen Group, Maritel has received recognition from many different organizations. Of note among these awards are the Certification of Achievement awarded by the Pampanga Press Club for her work in the field of culinary arts in 1995, and the Most Outstanding Kapampangan Award in 1996 for preserving and developing traditional Kapampangan Cuisine. As one of Pampanga’s most celebrated daughters, she has a wealth of experience to share with other entrepreneurs.

“Kung gusto po ninyong magkaroon ng restaurant, maganda po yon,” Maritel says, encouraging young entrepreneurs. “Maganda yung may pangarap tayo sa buhay na gagawin natin. Siguraduhin lang nila na naiintindihan nila kung ano yung pinapasukan nila. Each restaurant na pinapasukan natin, pinapasukan po ninyo, is food. So you should understand what is really a good food. Mabuti pang i-train ninyo ang tastebuds niyo. Try everything. Maging foodie kayo. So pag naging foodie ka maiintindihan mo talaga kung ano ang masarap na pagkain. [If you want to have your own restaurant, that’s great. It’s good to have aspirations in life that you want to achieve. Just make sure that you understand what you’re getting into. Each restaurant that you start is [about] food. So you should understand what is really good food. It would be best to train your tastebuds. Try everything. Become a foodie. So when you become a foodie, you’ll be able to understand what good food is.]”

Getting down to brass tacks, she emphasizes the formula that helped her to achieve success with Cabalen.

She continues, “First, if you want to go into the food industry, is yun na nga… dapat you will have to have a specialty. Dapat may specialty yung bubuksan mong restaurant. And then you should know the product, understand the product. Kung may product ka na, may concept ka na, dapat alam mo rin siyang i-market para malaman ng mga kapwa Pilipino natin about your restaurant. And of course the location. Very important. [First, if you want to go into the food industry, I’ve already said it… you will have to have a specialty. The restaurant you will open needs a specialty. And then you should know the product, understand the product. Then if you have a product, you have a concept, you need to know how to market so other Filipinos can learn about your restaurant. And of course the location. Very important.]

Finally, to other entrepreneurs who are also women and mothers like herself, Maritel has some special words of advice:

“Wag kayong matakot. Kung meron kayong pangarap na gustong gawin sa buhay, magkaroon ng sariling negosyo, gumawa ng sarili mong restaurant, kaya natin yon. [Don’t be scared. If you have a dream you want to achieve in life, start your own business, start your own restaurant, you can do it.]

“So may specialty ka, kahit hindi marami o malaki yung menu mo, pupunta nang pupunta, magugustan ng mga tao yon. It’s already a starting point. Kaya po ng mga babae. [If you have a specialty, people will come to the restaurant even if your menu isn’t very long. It’s already a starting point. Women can do it.]