For First-Time Cafe & Bar Founders in the Philippines
Open Your First Cafe or Bar — Built Right, Not Broke.
Plenty of cafés and bars don't make it — not because the coffee was bad, but because no one built the business behind it. Whether you're starting with a cart or opening full doors, I'll help you build yours the right way: the craft, the systems, and the launch.
Trained and trusted by
- TESDA
- Armed Forces of the Philippines
- Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
- Philippine Navy
- As seen on GMA News To Go
Not a guru. A builder.
I've consulted as a mixologist, run mobile bars, and trained barista and bartending students under TESDA. I'm an author, and I build websites and apps for businesses. I bring the whole stack — craft, systems, and digital — to one place: your cafe or bar.
I'm building mine in the open.
I'm building my own café — Mentors Business Café — and documenting the real thing: the wins, the costs, and the mistakes. Follow the build so you don't pay for the same lessons twice.
Watch the buildYou don't have a coffee problem. You have a build problem.
Most cafés and bars don't fail at the espresso — they fail at the business. The fix isn't a better recipe; it's a real system behind it: concept, costing, operations, launch, and a way to keep customers coming back.
“I have the dream and the recipes — but I don't know how to turn it into a real business.”
“I'm scared I'll spend my savings and still fail in the first year.”
“Everyone sells me equipment and beans. No one shows me the whole system.”
“I want to start, but I don't know where to start.”
Free Guide
The Cafe & Bar Founder's Blueprint
The 5 stages I use to take a cafe or bar from raw idea to open doors — built for the Philippine market.
Ore — Your concept & positioning: what you're building, for whom, and why it's you.
Fire — The craft & menu: your signature product, real costing, and pricing you can stand behind.
Hammer — The build: location, suppliers, permits, TESDA-grade training, and operating systems.
Quench — The soft launch: testing, pricing, and winning your first loyal customers.
Edge — Scale & brand: marketing, digital, repeat customers, and expansion.
From the people I've trained
“Before po, crew lang ako at self-supporting student. Limang buwan after kong i-apply yung tinuro sa akin ni Sir Andrew, naging store manager na po ako — yung position na pinaghihirapan ng iba ng ilang taon.”
“Nung makilala ko si Sir Andrew, dinala niya ako sa training na nagbago ng pananaw ko. Sinunod ko lang yung process, at after three months, naging kitchen manager na po ako.”
One builder. The whole stack.
Most founders stitch together a barista trainer, a designer, a marketer, and a contractor. I'm the one person who's done all of it — so your cafe or bar gets built as one coherent system.
Concept & Branding
Name, story, identity, positioning that sells status, not just coffee.
The Craft & Menu
Mixology and barista training to a professional, TESDA-grade standard.
Licensing & Setup
Permits, suppliers, and the operational backbone.
Digital
Your website, ordering app, and marketing — built in-house, not outsourced.
Launch & Scale
Soft launch, systems, and the path to a second location.
Andrew Silvestre
I started on the floor — behind the bar and on the espresso machine — and have been a TESDA trainer and assessor since 2015. Over the years the work changed shape: I stopped thinking of myself as only a trainer of skills and started building the people behind the business — supervisors, team leads, and first-time founders.
Today I lead Mentoris Institute for Leadership and Enterprise, Inc., where I focus on leadership, learning & development for the people who power Philippine MSMEs.
I build leaders who will build the future Philippine MSME.
- TESDA Trainer & Assessor
- Resource Speaker
- Leadership & Enterprise
- Founder, Mentoris Institute
Your cafe or bar deserves a real build.
Start with the free Blueprint. Then, if you want a hand building the rest, we'll talk.
Get the Free Blueprint