Café Laya…

Who says modern IV leaguers can’t be social enterprising?

Café Laya (Free), was born out of freedom and passion by three enterprising young and creative minds who wish not only to be free from the corporate rat-race but to pursue a profitable business venture. Ms.Tricia Cusi and together with her friends, wanted to uphold “Triple-bottomline” – Profit, People, and Environment as a core values of the company.

Located right beside DLSU Taft Avenue, Café Laya is a cross-over between a coffee shop and an art gallery. But not like any other coffee shop, this café features local produce of humble farmers from different regions in the country. The coffee beans are 100% Arabica produced from Benguet Province and use as a base for hot and cold and classic mixes such as Salted Caramel Latte and Mocha, Dark Chocolate, Cookies and Cream and more.

The café also serves Italian Pasta with a local twist of Adobo flakes on brown rice. Guests may also want to try Bacon Sandwich with Queso de Bola with Kamote Chips for some lite meals. For dessert, a choice of Kesong Puti Cheese cake, Chocnut Cake and Ube Pandan cake are just some of the delights you can savor while finishing up laid back meeting with friends.
 

Café Laya, also features an art gallery where everything displayed are also for sale, even the very tables and chairs you’re dining on. So don’t be surprise to see a different set of dining on your next visit, because guests may not just take home food take-outs but the furniture and art frames as well. Almost everything there has a price tag on it you can buy. 
 

The place does not only promote art appreciation but also encourages guests, to express their creativity within by brushing a few strokes of colors in their artist nook at the mezzanine area. Once done with your “masterpieces” you can hang them on the “Laya Walls”or Freedom Walls for everyone to appreciate among other artworks. The area also holds Poetry Reading, and for the musically inclined, anyone can just simply jam with friends on a guitar or Ukulele with your favorite tunes.  

On Saturdays, Café Laya hosts Art Workshops. Participants who can commit to complete five out of nine consecutive sessions and get to attend a free session for two, who can also commit to attend to finish a five workshop session.

So, whenever you eat any dish or drink their locally concocted mix beverages at Café laya, rest assured that every ingredients of it were bought from a framer in Benguet or a Gawad Kalinga Farming Community in Bulacan. And whenever you buy an artwork or a piece of furniture, you are also helping a furniture maker from Silya Elektrika, Atbp., a group of young artist that use reclaimed and repurpose treated wood and steel to masterfully create one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

At Café Laya, one can experience world standard quality tasting meals with locally produce ingredients.  It satisfy not only ones food cravings but also helps local Filipino resource and farming communities in our regions.Corporate Social Responsibility is definitely in the heart of Cafe Laya, its goal is to extend its passion forward to the very costumer they serve.