NAGA CITY, Philippines — Giant brands like Jollibee, McDonald’s, KFC and Greenwich may have encroached on its territory, but homegrown fast-food chain Biggs has managed to more than hold its own over the past 26 years.

To think that Biggs, with its retro 1960s signature look, was put up in 1983 “just for fun,” says Carlo Buenaflor, Biggs general manager.

Biggs was put up by Buenaflor’s mom, Nie Nie, and two of her friends, Nena Bichara and Maricar Manjon.

What started out as something of a hobby became a serious business, he says.

It started in a small nook in a theater basement at the central business district here. Now, it has 16 branches all over the Bicol region.

That Biggs lords it over the quick service restaurant business in the region may be due to the fact that it pioneered the fast-food concept in the city. While big names in the industry were expanding in Metro Manila, Biggs was making inroads in the Southern Tagalog region.

As for the name, the group was inspired by the lean people of Naga City, Buenaflor says.

“My mom and her friends were teasing each other then. They said, ‘Hey, there are lots of thin people in Naga City, why don’t we make them fat?’” Buenaflor says.

In the early days of the business, everyone in the family became involved because of the unexpected volume of customers, he adds.

The 35-year-old Buenaflor recalls how he mopped the floor and served customers until the family decided to hire more workers.

As the years passed, Biggs — which stands for Beautiful, Intelligent, Gorgeous and God-fearing — chose to stick to its 1960s motif — rolling-diner and fast-food services into one.

Buenaflor is optimistic there is opportunity even with the economic recession, noting that people will continue to patronize restaurants and fast-food stores to satisfy their cravings.

He says that during an economic crisis, there are restaurant clients who belong to the so-called “downgraders” group — people who cannot afford expensive restaurants.

There are also “upgraders,” or those who can afford expensive restaurants but are tightening belts.

Buenaflor says he sees opportunity in the crisis, concluding that “downgraders” and “upgraders” eventually will patronize establishments such as Biggs, where they can get their money’s worth.

Buenaflor earned a diploma from Hotel Institute Montreux in Switzerland in 1997, a degree in hotel management from the University of South Carolina in 2000 and a Masters in entrepreneurship at the Asian Institute of Management in 2008.

While studying outside the country, Buenaflor did not see himself working at Biggs.

He worked as assistant restaurant manager at Pebble Beach in Monterey, California, after he graduated.

All things changed when he went home.

“Biggs has grown big. I was surprised,” Buenaflor says, describing how he started out at the company’s marketing department before he was appointed general manager to run the firm.

“This allowed my mother to enjoy her retirement,” he adds.

Buenaflor systematized and organized the essence of Biggs’ unwritten operating values, enabling the management team to formulate the corporate principles the company now uses as guide in delivering their service.

For one, Biggs does not serve food in styrofoam lunch boxes. It also does not dispense plastic spoons and forks. This sets Biggs apart from other fast-food establishments, in that it provides quick delivery of order while offering customers a complete dining experience.

From the bits and pieces of service concepts that his mother introduced and adopted for the company, Buenaflor rationalized the thematic concept of the ’60s as a time when fast-food diners dotted the American landscape.

While other fastfood chains tend to use yellow, orange and red in their buildings and promotional materials, Buenaflor chose blue to break away from the pack and create Biggs’ own identity.

The Biggs outlets boost of a spacious dining place with blast from the past items like old gramophone sets, typewriters, bicycles, refrigerators and gasoline pumps. Branches would also have portraits of icons like Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, while playing piped-in rock ‘n’ roll music.

Although Buenaflor acknowledges the difficulty of being in a smaller scale operation compared to the big names in the industry, he feels comfortable that the difference the company makes is what makes them thrive.

To prove his point, he says Biggs has survived and thrived in the crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. At present, it has expanded from Naga City to four provinces in Bicol, with its franchising business picking up. A branch has also opened in San Pablo City in the province of Quezon.