the kat's meow: A Little Piece of Sky Cafe

In one of Guadalupe's quiet residential areas, rests a quirky new cafe that is set to capture the hearts of wanderlusts, foodies and people who wish to find comfort in light- hearted dining and lounging around in a cozy, blissful ambiance. Joining neighbors Moon Cafe and Dong Juan is ALPS Cafe or A Little Piece of Sky. ALPS Cafe is owned by the Zosa Family, a fun bunch whose communal hobby is traveling around the world, their padre de familia being a pilot. Needless to say, their restaurant built their inspiration around that.

The travel-inspired cafe had their soft-opening last May 1, 2013. You can tell we were so excited, we came at the first hour. Haha.

Say hello to Patty, the youngest girl among the Zosas! :)

When she asked me to be their architectural design consultant, I was super giddy especially after hearing their ideas and concept. Nothing makes a designer happier and more excited than working with trusting and open-minded clients, especially those with their own sense of creative. (Patty is a fine arts graduate in the same college I went to, we worked together as officers in our respective orgs)

Flashback. During our first visit early last year, I dragged my then- officemates and technical gurus Buddy and Zhen along and they were happy to comply. :) When we first visited the place, it was yet a dark empty space on their ground floor, rough on the surface and enclosed with grills. They were going to develop the place (and their menu) slowly and at their own pace. Here's what the cafe now looks like. I'm so proud to see how the Zosas pulled it off with little intervention, notice the little trinkets they were able to make and scout! :)


Currently steel-decked, we agreed on just painting the ceiling with dark-colored paint and put suspended lights to distract people from the utility lines instead of completely concealing it. For the floor finish, we agreed on polished concrete as it is low-maintenance and very charming when played right.

Since their space was pretty big and rectangular, we suggested to zone the space for variety and instill excitement on the diner's end. Ordinary seating, bar stool corner, an area for couches, and an elevated lounge where people can simply squat/ lay.

The grills were converted to glass walls, doors, windows. Where to put a door, when to make it sliding or fixed is crucial in guiding flow and circulation; putting a sliding glass door is always tempting but can easily turn an area into dead space.

The story of the elevated portion: There was an existing column too close to the wall so instead of being irritated by it, we thought of making the space a special lounging area discreetly enclosed by the column and the slight change in elevation. The sisters pushed for a special lighting feature for this area, something reminiscent of starry lights on an airplane ceiling.

Patty in action. Cutest waitress award :P

Fully accented wall VS Bare wall. What we originally assigned to be a freedom wall, the girls thought of leaving bare so they can project foreign films on the wall every fridays. Brilliant, right? :D We also suggested that aside from the warm suspended lights, that track lights be used at the sides to highlight the features on the wall and again, emphasize those zones.

We foresaw this area as the laptop or reading station. This all-famous hand-painted map is turning into a photo wall for Instagram purposes. Hahaha. Just like Sprockets' lomo wall :P

We had brick walls for the columns. Classic trick. Always works, but very tricky. It can be classy and rustic but can also end up looking cheap. I liked ALPS' version of it. :)

Our contribution stopped at the architectural interior and lay-out. I was so pleased to see how the little accents and their interior design and styling followed through well and just stringed the whole wanderlust concept together.

Like this display. It contributed so much to the mood. Those hat are "Daddy Zosa's".

The idea was a bare concrete toilet. I was surprised to see how they achieved this so well!

and how they added some Pop-Art and framed it with white against the concrete wall.

Now on to chow time!

I will leave the food chit chat to the food bloggers, but I got Tuna Wraps and Buddy got Creamy Carbonara. We had Sangria for our drink and a brownie cup for dessert :)

This photo and all others without watermark are grabbed from ALPS' facebook page

Soft-opening menu, can't wait for the full set!

Insert photo-time in between taking care of her guests :))

Brunch-mate and fellow consultant, Buddy! :)

Cookie give-aways!

A photo with the signature ALPS map, just before we left. Congratulations, Patt! And Congratulations to the Zosa tribe! :D

The exterior and the tree we're so happy they didn't cut down. Hahaha. Can't wait to see lamps/ bulbs on this one. :>

One of the things I love most about Cebu is it is always filled with secret chows in unexpected places; secret chows that always have something charming and unique to tickle not just your sense of taste but also your imagination with. That labor day, a new destination called ALPS cafe landed on that list.

Info:

ALPS Cafe is located at M. Veloso St, Guadalupe, Cebu City. Fly with them every Monday- Saturday from 4:00 PM- 9:00 PM. Be updated and like their page here! :)

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