With a family of nine kids, Mary Sy’s parents’ dream was to start something that could grow and earn enough to support them.
It was in 1953 when the couples Sy Ting and Vicenta Sy set up Cebu La Fortuna Bakery along Borromeo Street in downtown Cebu City.
“My father used to work as a baker in Manila before they moved to Cebu in 1953 because they think Cebu was a good place for the raising of their family,” Mary Sy said.
The bakery then offered just the basic products like bread but included Chinese products such as tikoy which then became the most popular product of their bakery.
Being the second child Mary was trained early to help in the operations of the family business starting as a bagger then a checker, a cashier then being the current manager of the bakery chain.
“When we were young, we are already required to help. From school we go straight to the bakery and help our parents,” she said.
Mary said they used to rent houses before which was a challenge because they were a large family.
“We often get rejected especially when they would know that there are 9 kids. We all sleep together in one room before,” Sy said.
When their father died in 1973, only 20 years after setting up the bakeshop, the more they were involved in the business.
“We have to help our mom who is being strong for all nine of us after our dad died,” she said.
From only two people doing the operations of the bakery, Sy’s family business has already hired at least 60 people who have been with them since 40 years ago.
“After 58 years, we saw the importance of keeping a healthy relationship with our people who have been working here with us for 40 years now. They help us achieve growth for our business,” she said.
Cebu La Fortuna Bakery now has four branches including Sto. Niño branch, Capitol branch and Minglanilla branch aside from the original site in Borromeo Street which now holds a food center and a hotel.
After 58 years, the brand has already achieved success in the bakery business now known as a brand for pasalubong items in Cebu like masi, tikoy, ampaw as well as new products like meat roll, fortune cookie, siopao and many other products.
“We also got advice from our friends that we also have to setup new businesses aside from the bakeshop. So in 2006 we opened Hotel Fortuna and La Fortuna Food Center which compliments our bakery business.”
According to Mary, the three of them – her elder sister Rosa and youngest sister Carmen- plans to set up more 3-in-1 businesses like what they did in Gorordo Street where they have the hotel, the food center and the bakery.
“We saw how strategic it was to have the three properties in one place because our guests in the hotel just eat in our food center and when they go home they simply drop by our bakery for pasalubong. So that’s a long term goal for us,” said Mary.
Hotel Fortuna offers affordable rooms for business class and tourists who wants a decent room to stay at very reasonable rates that starts at P1,200 per night with breakfast for two.
There La Fortuna Food Center also offers buffet lunch and dinner at reasonable rates.
Sy however said that it’s difficult to open more branches nationwide because they were still very much hands on with the business.
“We plan to continue to grow our business still here in Cebu and ride on with the thrust of the local tourism in creating a brand especially for Cebu,” Mary said.