When Steffi Santana co-opened her first restaurant with her dad in 2011, she was only 22 and full of hope. The restaurant, based in Ever Gotesco, carried the same concept they had successfully run in the U.S., where her family owned Filipino restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. But despite their experience and passion, the Philippine market proved tougher than expected. Within just one year, the restaurant shut down.
“It was the first failure that I’ve ever experienced,” Steffi shared in a candid interview. “I felt really bad… it was the first time that I was actually accountable for something so big that cost a lot of money.”
After months of self-reflection and regrouping, Steffi and her father decided to try again—but this time with a smarter, leaner approach. Drawing from their family’s food legacy, they focused on a single product: pichi-pichi, a sticky, chewy Filipino delicacy made from cassava. The recipe had been in the family for years and always earned rave reviews at gatherings. This time, they were determined to do things differently.
“We were like, ‘Okay, small store lang, let’s be smarter para kahit na magsarado ito, hindi magiging masakit,’” Steffi said.
With under ₱100,000 in capital, they opened the first Lola Nena’s branch on Quezon Avenue in 2012. The goal was clear: keep the overhead low, avoid costly mall spaces, and maximize quality and customer satisfaction.
They had just one employee. Steffi and her dad took on most of the work—managing operations, handling the kitchen, and even doing deliveries at the start. It was a complete turnaround from the more capital-intensive model of their first venture.
And it worked.
Because their costs were minimal, even early sales allowed the business to turn a profit. Word began to spread about their soft, cheesy pichi-pichi. Loyal customers came back for more, and soon, the business was expanding organically. From one branch, Lola Nena’s grew into a multi-branch success story, gaining widespread popularity not only for their pichi-pichi but also for their now-famous triple cheese donuts.
Today, Lola Nena’s is a staple in Filipino merienda culture, thanks to a smart pivot rooted in humility, practicality, and family tradition.
This article includes quotes from an interview originally published by Esquire Philippines, authored by Henry Ong.
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