What Tipple & Slaw’s reinvention means for aspiring restaurateurs

Evolution, adaptation, change—these are all essential for a business to survive. The dining market is fickle and tastes change with each season, making it even more crucial for a restaurant or bar to keep their fingers on the pulse of potential customers. Tipple & Slaw is one establishment that’s aware of this as their Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and Katipunan Avenue concepts respond to the unique market each branch serves.

Tipple & Slaw Katipunan takes a modern approach to its interior design
Tipple & Slaw Katipunan takes a modern approach to its interior design

Shifting market

Established in 2014, Tipple & Slaw in BGC is still going strong as a popular young bar in the thriving yuppy community. As an affordable drinking hub in a location comprised primarily of people looking to relax after a hectic work day, it’s no wonder the BGC branch continues to be a staple bar in the area.

But Tipple & Slaw in Katipunan took another approach—departing from its bar-only concept, the Quezon City branch knew that the same concept wouldn’t work up north given Katipunan’s predominantly college-aged and family-dominated audience.

So chef, restaurateur, and co-owner Francis Lim decided to highlight their food as a way to attract the QC market. The cozy, modern interiors also added more appeal to the establishment, which is located on the first and second floors of The Pop Up, an open air mall on the corner of Katipunan and Xavierville Avenue. 

Shawarma rice, beef gyudon, and spicy salmon poke bowl

“We don’t want it to be given recognition only in the evening,” says Lim, highlighting Tipple & Slaw’s well-rounded, café comfort food menu that consists of gourmet pork chops, steaks, handmade pizza, fresh pasta, and “really good fried chicken.”

When opening a restaurant or bar, it pays to know your crowd and the other offerings, or lack thereof, in the area. “The restaurants that we have around here [are] mostly safe restaurants,” notes Lim. Fast food joints and student-friendly places will automatically sell regardless of where you put them, but concepts as curated as Tipple & Slaw are a rare gem in the area.

The same can also be said for bars, which is what encouraged the Tipple & Slaw team to “provide a different drinking experience here in QC.”

Green curry thong and meatballs

New dimensions

Beyond the drinks and food, the Katipunan establishment is bringing a new dimension to the Tipple & Slaw brand: a café. Soon, the Slaw floor will be called Slaw Kitchen and Café while Tipple upstairs will remain a bar. This new development will enable Tipple & Slaw to capture the wide college audience in the vicinity, only adding to its market appeal.

“Having a bar, you always have to adapt to the market,” explains Lim. At both branches, customers get to experience specialty nights all throughout the week: Mondays are game night, Tuesdays have “Rockeoke,” Wednesdays are hyped up with party liaisons, and Friday is the barkada night.

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But there’s also more in the pipeline: an upscale branch that’ll focus on Asian food, which will add another layer of depth and diversity to the rising food brand.

Times change and brands must change with it, and as Tipple & Slaw is trying to prove, adapting to the market is just another opportunity for brand growth.

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