In Pagsanjan: Ancestral home now hotel-restaurant

MAIN dining hall. PHOTOS BY AMADIS MA. GUERRERO

You might say that the main street in Pagsanjan, Laguna —JP Rizal Poblacion 2— is the most distinctive in that tourist town, as it leads to the historical landmarks that are the parish church dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pagsanjan’s patron saint, and the 19th century Municipal Hall.

PLANTS make for a healthy environment

Past the imposing arch are many old houses which belong to the principalia (provincial elite), as well as newer residences and in recent years, hotels and restaurants with a period ambience.

One such edifice is the Jardin family mansion, which is now the Calle Arco Hotel & Restaurant. It is owned by Ana Jardin and her husband Ronaldo Cabrera. Calle Arco is actually a bed and breakfast hotel with two rooms (P1,500-1,800 per night), a dining hall and coffee shop.

Hotel guests are usually foreign tourists out to shoot the rapids, and looking for a room for the night.

“Business is very competitive as a hotel,” says dining supervisor Noel Dagle (09195079278). “But as a restaurant we are on top, based on feedback regarding the food.”

DINING supervisor Noel Dagle

The hotel-resto has an elegant air, harking back to a seemingly gentler era. There are prints, paintings, photos, ceramics, bric-a-bracs, teapots, gifts from friends abroad, and a small garden outside the coffee shop.

The sound system plays soothing music from the days of yore, like Gershwin’s “Summertime” and “Little Things Mean a Lot.”

“It started as a hobby for the family,” recalls Dagle, who holds a mass communications and hotel and restaurant degrees from Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Santa Mesa, Manila and is, in fact, a onetime instructor of Cabrega, Ana’s husband.

He adds, “Then they put up a flower shop, a coffee-and-pastry shop which serves merienda, and finally expanded into a restaurant and bed-and-breakfast hotel.”

SUPERVISING the diners

The hotel-resto became better known following exchange deals with Channel 11, the Kris Aquino Show, February 21 Drew Arellano and GMA News TV.

The top food sellers are the  sinigang na baka (beef in broth) (P250, good for two to four persons), garlic chicken (P200, also good for two to four persons), and crispy pata (P350, good for up to six persons).

After several years in the hotel business, as a caterer (mostly for hosting events) and as a dining supervisor, Dagle has learned that it pays to be “friendly, enthusiastic in dealing with people, and to work hard.”