Mercato Centrale to continue ops at Bridgetown Destination Estates

September 2, 2024 - 5:11 PM
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(From L-R) Jubie Anne Vallarta, Head of Leasing at RLC Integrated Developments Division; Loise Albert Montes, Assistant Vice President Robinsons Destination Estate; Vanessa Pastor-Ledesma, President of Mercato Centrale. (Released)

Mercato Centrale, a small food business incubator and outdoor food market, has renewed its partnership with Robinsons Land Corporation, ensuring the continued operation of its outdoor food market at Bridgetown Destination Estates.

The market, which opened in Bridgetown Destination Estates—a mixed-use township and business park on the border of Pasig and Quezon City—in December 2020, offers live music and a variety of beverages and cuisines from local food businesses.

RJ Ledesma, chief innovation officer of Mercato Centrale, said the strong and steady foot traffic at Bridgetown provides an ideal setting for launching new food concepts from small food business entrepreneurs.

“The strong and steady foot traffic at Bridgetown makes it the perfect venue for launching new food concepts by our small food business entrepreneurs,” Ledesma said.

“Bridgetown is a family-oriented destination filled with fun outdoor activities like concerts, an obstacle course, a motorcycle riding academy, and FIFA-preferred turf football fields,” he added.

Loise Albert Montes, Robinson’s Land Corporation assistant vice president, noted the mutual benefits of the partnership, expressing their pride in supporting the food market’s commitment to small food business entrepreneurship.

“Mercato adds another layer of excitement to Bridgetown, and we are proud to support their advocacy for small food business entrepreneurship,” Montes said.

“It has been a fantastic partnership. Mercato has consistently been open to exploring new concepts and initiatives at Bridgetown,” said Jubie Anne Villarte, head of leasing for the Integrated Developments division.

Mercato Centrale also revealed new partnerships, including one with Okane Kitchen, a company specializing in back-end kitchen operations for ​​small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to introduce new food concepts to the market.

Okane Ventures Corporation chief executive officer Fritzvon Capulong expressed excitement over the development of exclusive food concepts for Mercato.

“We share a common vision of supporting the growth of SMEs, and we’re excited to create exclusive food concepts for Mercato,” he said.

Fly Ace Corporation, a top food and beverage company and exclusive distributor of Franzia Wines, will bring its popular boxed wine experience to Mercato.

“We want to show that Franzia Wines can be enjoyed with any type of food, and Mercato is the ideal environment for this,” said Philip Opiasa, senior business development manager.

“With its diverse range of offerings—from Japanese to Korean to Filipino regional and street foods—Mercato provides the perfect backdrop for showcasing the versatility of Franzia Wines,” he added.

Established in 2011 at the Bonifacio Global City Tent, the food market has expanded across Robinson’s Antipolo, Festival Mall Alabang, Acacia Estates Taguig and Bridgetown Pasig.