MANILA, Philippines – For a business owner, sending customers out the door would normally be the opposite of the goal. But for Rose Abes, owner of La Rosa Vino, sharing customers with her neighbors is part of how she does business.
On September 19, La Rosa Vino once again brought guests to walk along Maginhawa Street, Quezon City for its fourth Wine and Food Hop. This year, its day-long event paired wines with signature dishes from six partner restaurants in the neighborhood.
For Rose, these partnerships are built on something simple.
“A good relationship is very important,” she said, referring to her connection with the Maginhawa Food Community (MFC) and fellow business owners.
This is a philosophy that has shaped La Rosa Vino since Rose opened the business in February 2023. What began as her passion for wine came with a goal: to build a community of wine drinkers in Quezon City, where she saw fewer spaces devoted to wine compared with areas like Makati.
But building that community also meant finding her own place in an industry she acknowledges remains largely dominated by men.
“I just need to be me,” Rose said in an interview with Rappler. “Wala akong magagawa (There’s nothing I can do) since it’s really male-dominated. So, I just need to be myself.”
Ever since she opened her wine shop, Rose has continuously grown her customer base and has found consistent support from the MFC.
Finding her place in wine
Before Rose found herself as a wine shop owner, she was working in marketing and events. When the pandemic prompted her to reconsider her career, she decided to turn her passion for wine into a business of her own.
Finally, her lockdown-born passion for wine led her to change careers. She decided to take her knowledge, wine and spirit certifications, and dream to create a little nook for wine lovers.
While Rose admits that La Rosa Vino is still young, she is also proud to share that she has seen a good increase in wine lovers who now frequent her shop.
Beyond selling bottles of wine, Rose has continued introducing activities that encourage customers to explore alcoholic beverages in different ways.
“My goal of bringing my customers an experience remains,” she said.
In 2025, Rose hosted various activities in her shop partnered with the experience of drinking wine, such as vegan dining, yoga sessions, floral arrangements, and more.
This year, Rose leaned more into experiencing the alcoholic beverages themselves — one of which was a whiskey appreciation class.
“A lot of my customers showed interest in appreciation classes. It’s a deeper experience compared to what we hosted before, so I thought maybe it would not be a hit. Surprisingly, we were fully booked within two weeks!” she shared.
Rose has also noticed that many of La Rosa Vino’s customers and event participants are women, something she believes may reflect their desire for spaces where they can enjoy and feel safe at the same time.
“I’m happy that La Rosa Vino is a comfortable space for them to enjoy alcoholic drinks. Like me, maybe they are also looking for a place to be themselves freely,” she explained.
“Perhaps the shop being woman-owned adds to that comfort,” she said.
But the intimate community Rose has built extends beyond the customers who visit La Rosa Vino.
Through the MFC, she has also found support among fellow entrepreneurs navigating the fulfillment and challenges of running their own establishments.
Growing with the Maginhawa community
While her background in marketing helped her establish La Rosa Vino, Rose admitted that managing a physical business came with its own challenges.
Being part of the MFC, however gave her opportunities to collaborate with neighboring restaurants, including through La Rosa Vino’s annual Wine and Food Hop.
Formed in 2021, this network of business owners has grown from a small group of restaurant owners into a collective of 70 members.
According to its president, Jules Guiang, they started with around five restaurants and initially struggled to establish credibility among restaurant owners. They gradually earned their trust through initiatives involving local government coordination and events such as the Maginhawa Arts and Food Festival.
“We advocate for Maginhawa to remain a hub for micro and small businesses, many of which are family-owned,” said Guiang. “The MFC works to bring these concerns to the local government, especially as the area attracts more customers.”
He said the group wants to help smaller establishments remain in business and potentially grow, rather than be crowded out by larger brands.
One of the MFC’s members is Wadough’s, a pastry shop known for its minimalist cakes, including the viral wedding cake it made for actress Bea Alonzo. The shop was also the third stop on La Rosa Vino’s Wine and Food Hop.
“When I opened this café nine years ago, I imagined it as a place where I would sit down with customers and chat with them while having coffee and cake. The goal was that,” said owner Wado Siman, recalling that they never really expected the shop to be famous.
Wado believes that most of his shop’s fame is brought by pure luck, especially with the timing of going viral online during the pandemic. This success led him to gain more customers, which naturally brought customers to nearby restaurants too.
Making room for more
For Rose, the Wine and Food Hop is one way to put that shared goal into practice. By bringing her customers to neighboring establishments, La Rosa Vino helps introduce them to other independent businesses along Maginhawa while giving participating restaurants another opportunity to reach customers.
The event also reflects how Rose approaches running her own business. Rather than focusing solely on bringing people into La Rosa Vino, she sees value in encouraging them to explore the neighborhood and discover what other establishments have to offer.
“The MFC is very supportive with its business owners, both emotionally and physically,” Rose said, recalling that the collective helped her during her first year running a physical establishment.
Over time, her fellow business owners have also become her friends. When asked how she found her partner establishments, she replied that they were very casual invitations of “isasali kita sa next Wine and Food Hop ko, ha? (I’ll include you in my next Wine and Food Hop, okay?)”
For Rose, these relationships have become part of how La Rosa Vino operates.
She has always envisioned La Rosa Vino developing a community that includes not only the customers who visit her shop, but also the independent businesses that share Maginhawa Street.
After all, she believes that wine is better enjoyed with company. – Rappler.com