Self-awareness might just be David Licauco’s strongest suit. “Kailangan ko ma-figure out ,” he ponders out loud, as if willing the air around him for the right strategy to offset the weight of such a business reality. As he sits in the adjacent table mentally fiddling with the marketing derailleur of Sobra Cafe, his first physical restaurant in Molito Lifestyle Center in Alabang, you get the impression that the debonair actor-turned-entrepreneur is riding through a baptism by fire.
Potted plants sitting on the floor and hanging from above, as well as large aesthetic mirrors, set the backdrop for an attention-attracting bar that welcomes customers. Mac N Cheese served with pork belly burnt ends French toast and a cafe latte Upstairs, there’s plenty of natural light to pull trigger-happy Gen Z into their own nooks for well-lit TikToks, Reels, and Shorts of the breakfast-heavy menu that Victorioso and Licauco worked on.