It all started in 1983 when three enterprising ladies wanted to give running a food business a shot.  Having been partners in a previous business venture, Nena Bichara, Nienie Buenaflor, Maricar Manjon thought that a take out counter specializing in hamburgers and fries was perfect for Naga. At that time, Naga hardly had any decent place to grab a meal from. More importantly it gave them a chance to practice and highlight their common passion for food while giving the Nagueños a treat of their quality but affordable food. With individual loans from several banks, Mang Donald's opened its take-out window on January 18, 1983. It instantly became a hit. Finally people need to travel travel to Manila to have a taste of American fare. Why Mang Donald's? One might ask. "It had ring to it, it's fun and thanks to Mc Donald's, it also had an easy name recall," explain one of the partners when ask about the name. Mang Donald's, many will attest, is responsible for paving the way for the multi-national chains entering Naga. It started Shakey's and others followed in suite. Because of Mang Donald's, local restaurants had to upgrade their quality and service to meet the expectations the partners had set. This was just the beginning.

     Nald's came a year after in January of 1984. The partners had an idea of putting up a goto counter to diversify its offering. While Mang Donald's served foreign delights, Nalds specialized in homegrown recipes such as got and dinuguan. As expected, it was the same success as its predecessor. At this point, the partners were really amused  with their success that they planned to expand their take-out counters to include a dine-in area. Not long after the expansion, they felt a need to expand once more to accomodate the growing the growing numbers of customers. By the late 1980's, Mang Donald's had grown into a major restaurant hardly giving anyone a clue of what it once was.

     In 1990, the partners introduced a unique dining concept like no other in Naga. Carl's Diner opens its doors on September 13 just in time for the well-attended Peñafrancia Fiesta. The idea was adapt a fun dining experience and melding with a quick service type of restaurant. The Diner motif immediately appeals to Nagueños of all ages and immediately makes this new addiction of the partners, a success. Soon after, Mang Donald's changes its image to adapt  the diner motif. It also sees its name change to Carl's. The reason for the Carl's is that all three partners have sons with the name Carlos. "It was common denominator", the partners will tell you.

     Although the theme of the restaurants were still American serving western favorites such as burgers and hot dogs, the partners introduced full meals such as Cordon Bleu, Tenderloin Tips and Pork Kebab. What set Carl's Diner apart from other restaurant s was its ability to serve quality food in large portions in casual dining environment while maintaining affordable prices that could easily rival fast-food chains. The partners are really on to something now.

     In October 21, 1994, Carl's Diner becomes Bigg's Diner. The change of name reflects the growth of what was once a small enterprise. With the new name, the partners were confident that they could replicate their success outside of Naga. Bigg's Diner Old Albay opens in 1996 and true to its name; it was a bigg hit easily becoming the busiest restaurant in town. Bigg's is on a roll. A year after, the Pili outlet opens and quickly becomes a favorite stop for travelers and locals alike. The rest, as the cliché goes, is history. Bigg's at present is a major Bicolano success, not only by being the best food chain in Bicol but also as a catering service. Bigg's Diner also has a scaled down version called Bigg's Jr. that aims to open in Municipalities to enable rural folks to treat themselves to the unique dining experience that Bigg's Diner is known to provide. Bigg's enters the new millennium with an aggressive mission to expand its unique concept nationwide. With more than 10 system-wide stores and rapidly growing, Bigg's looks into the future with confidence that one day, it will be the country's number one fast-casual chain.

 

---