I.

Early Life:
Maritel Nievera is one of the successful businesswomen in the Philippines
that came from a family of entrepreneur. Her family is known for establishing or
putting up successful businesses in Pampanga. When she was a child she admit
that she dont love cooking at first, her mother and her grandmother were the only
persons who were coking in their family and she was just watching and observing
them until she got interested in it.
She was helping her family run their family business which is the famous
Bahay Pasalubong in 1975 that sells Kapampmangan Pasalubong Delicacies from
nearby towns, which accommodated customers coming to and from Pampanga most
especially those people coming from Bagiou. Their business also sell some foods,
from which she learned how to cook, but not only to cook but to distinguish and
differentiate the delicious food from not.
She was in her college years when she met her husband and soon they got
married. Her skill in managing business and cooking started when she got married at
Maritel Nievera
Cabalen Restaurant

the age of 17 yrs. old. According to Maritel, since her husband has already a
restaurant business she was enforced to manage it.
II. Successful Story:
Keeping up her experiences when she was in Province she went in Manila to
expand her business. At first it is difficult for her to run a business in Manila because
she was a single parent during that time. The Cabalen owner bought a small land in
West Avenue, during the construction period she was thinking what kind of
restaurant she wants to establish and since she wanted the people of Manila to
experience or to taste the authentic kapampangan cuisine thats why she put up
Cabalen Restaurant. She choose the kapampangan word Cabalen which means
kababayan or townmate because its short, catchy and very easy to memorize. At
first she admit that she was really afraid and doubting if the city people will patronize
the kapampangan food, but thanks to the article of Doreen Fernandez a food critic.
Because of her good article about the newly established restaurant a lot of people
are now coming and eating in the Cabalen.
Her problems and difficulties in establishing Cabalen are not yet done, before
Cabalen is a turo-turo restaurant before it became an eat all you can restaurant.
Earlier the Kamayan Restaurant introduces the Buffet style and people really
support it until such time that Cabalen has submerged. As businesswomen Maritel
think cfarefully of the ways in which she would be able to put Cabalen back on the
top. She concluded that she cannot beat them but instead she joined them. So from
a turo-turo restaurant she made Cabalen into a buffet type of restaurant to attract
more customers. Luckily her plans were effective up until now, thats why Cabalen is
now one of the famous buffet restaurant in the Philippines that offers affordable
prices and delicious Filipino cuisine.
III. Present Position:
The woman behind the Cabalen Restaurant confirms that she owes her
business proficiency to being a woman. She describes her management approach
as conventional. Financial practicality, for instance, has helped make her Cabalen
business unchanging, even as it kept on expanding and putting up new outlets. .
As of now Her oldest son Ian Tiongson is now very much involved as vice-
president of the management company, and her daughter-in-law , famous singer
Diane dela Fuente-Tiongson, also weighs in by going around and monitoring each
and every outlet. But she still manages it by visiting to the main branch, she
confesses that she still the Chief executive Chef of her restaurant, she tasted every
cuisine being served in the restaurant to make sure that there is consistency in its
taste. At this stage, overall management has become so much easier for me. I feel I
can be more creative now. Im free to create new concepts. Like Oodys, for
example, says Maritel.
Last September 2012, The Cabalen group celebrated its 25
th
anniversary with
21 concept restaurants, many of which are located in the SM malls Oodys, which
serves Thai food; Mangan, another Kapampangan resto; Ebun, which serves
traditional cuisine; and Cerveseria, which is known for its Spanish cuisine. This year,
Cabalen goes overseas when it opens a restaurant in San Francisco, California.