Tropical Hut

Tropical Hut is a Filipino chain of fast food restaurants owned by Mercury Group of Companies, Inc. It is the 7th oldest food chain in the Philippines[2] and is considered by some Filipinos as the "original" burger joint in the Philippines,[3] being older than Jollibee (1978) and McDonald's Philippines (1981).[4]

Tropical Hut
A Tropical Hut Food Mart outlet along Scout Borromeo in Quezon City
Product typeFast food chain, grocery store
OwnerMercury Group of Companies, Inc.
CountryPhilippines
Introduced1962 (1962)
Markets
  • Philippines
Tagline"Sarap na Babalik-balikan!" (A delight to keep coming back for)
Company
Number of locations
22[1]

History

Established in 1962, Tropical Hut started as a sari-sari store that expanded into an ordinary grocery store and later rapidly into a supermarket with a coffee shop. Through its success within these years, the name Tropical Hut Hamburger was introduced with the company being incorporated as Tropical Hut Food Market, Inc. on February 26, 1965.[5][6][7]

In 1972, the Mercury Group of Companies acquired the said company and expanded its branches in building several branches across Metro Manila.[6]

Decline and resurgence
Outlet in Taytay, Rizal

Over the years, Tropical Hut had been overshadowed by other fast food chains like Jollibee and suffered a decline.[8]

On June 12, 2022, a Twitter thread by stock analyst John Paul Tanyag (@dumidyeypee)[4] lamented how he was the only customer in their Escolta branch, and expressed nostalgia about the restaurant's former glory.[9] Around the same time, another social media post from 2019 from a branch in Carmona, Cavite (which had since closed) that said "Kumain naman kayo sa amin" (Come on, please eat with us) became viral.[8]

These and other social media posts triggered a domino effect and resurgence of interest in the fast-food chain, prompting Filipinos to visit nearby branches to check the restaurant for themselves. Riding on a wave of nostalgia after going viral on social media, branches started to sell out, with some even having to turn away customers due to inability to keep up with demand. This led to Tropical Hut creating more staff openings[10] as well as clamor to open provincial branches to serve more people.[4]

Branch locations

As of July 2023, Tropical Hut operates 22 stores across the island of Luzon, 18 of which are in Metro Manila. The fast food chain also operates seven stores with 24/7 service.[1]

Riverbanks Center

In Philippine literature

Tropical Hut and its hamburgers have been mentioned in the following books, essays and stories.

  • The Tropical Hut Food Mart grocery store and the Tropical Hut Hamburger fast food chain are mentioned as part of a town setting in Prospero Reyes Covar's 1998 essay Larangan: Seminal Essays of Philippine Culture, mentioning the fast food chain's Rancho Ranchero and Hawaiian Glee burgers and clubhouse sandwiches as part of the menu at the time.[11]
  • In Layeta Bucoy's short story Tres Amores, Charisma asks a roving male guard at a Robinsons mall if there is a Tropical Hut branch at the mall.[12]
  • One of the ten stories covered in Geraldine Maayo's A Quality of Sadness, mentions Tropical Hut's former branch along Session Road in Baguio as a go-to for hamburger lunches and as a stopover for frequent travelers.[13]
  • In Wala Lang by Bud Tomas, the author reminisces Tropical Hut as the only burger joint in his hometown.[14]
  • In Federico Acuña Espiritu's Tempest: Eye in the Storm, the author mentions that a printing press owner would order hamburgers from a Tropical Hut across a National Book Store branch, which the author regarded as "the best hamburger at that time".[15]

References
  1. "Enjoy your Sarap na Babalik-balikan!® at... - TROPICAL HUT HAMBURGER". Facebook. TROPICAL HUT HAMBURGER. July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  2. Uy, Sasha Lim (May 30, 2019). "Restaurants That Endure: 12 Oldest Food Chains in the Philippines". Esquire.
  3. Madarang, Catalina Ricci (June 14, 2022). "'Need ma-revive': Why Tropical Hut is being talked about on local social media". Interaksyon.
  4. Malasig, Jeline (June 17, 2022). "'Heartwarming': Tropical Hut thanks Pinoys for support after viral status". Interaksyon. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  5. "Report Name: Philippine Broiler Market Trends and Prospects". United States Department of Agriculture - Foreign Agricultural Service. March 31, 2020. p. 32. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  6. Legazpi, John (June 14, 2022). "Dishes you should try at Tropical Hut, according to Twitterverse". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  7. Carr, Jennifer L. (December 1, 2013). Major Companies of The Far East and Australasia 1993/94: Volume 1: South East Asia. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 190. ISBN 978-94-011-1452-3. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  8. Mendoza, Ralph (June 21, 2022). "IN PHOTOS: The Tropical Hut nostalgia wave". CNN Philippines.
  9. Santiago, Camille (June 20, 2022). "Tropical Hut is the latest fast food chain to face shortage". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  10. "After going viral, Tropical Hut is selling out across Manila — and is now hiring new staff to keep up with the demand". Yahoo News. June 20, 2022.
  11. Covar, Prospero Reyes (1998). Larangan: seminal essays on Philippine culture. National Commission for Culture and the Arts. p. 43.
  12. Bucoy, Layeta (2008). Tres Amores. Fox Literary House. p. 67. ISBN 9789719405122.
  13. Maayo, Geraldine C. (1987). A Quality of Sadness: 10 Stories. New Day Publishers. p. 86. ISBN 9789711003128.
  14. Tomas, Bud (2004). Wala Lang: Files (funny & Serious) on Youthful Being and Nothingness. Milfores Pub. p. 39. ISBN 9789718280324.
  15. Espiritu, Federico Acuña (September 20, 2021). Tempest: Eye in the Storm. Covenant Books, Inc. ISBN 9781636309521.
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