ORANGE BRUTUS: @ 30 years of local hamburger chain success

Good news to all "BURGERMANIAC"  Orange Brutus Celebrating 30 years of local hamburger chain success

For Orange Brutus, the year 2010 is a year of triumphant celebration. From the humble downtown store it started with, it now takes pride in its 21 outlets spread all over metro Cebu and nearby towns. The most recent outlets are those in Robinson’s Cybergate and Naga, Cebu which opened just last January 24. Before them was the outlet in Gaisano Grand Mall Mactan which opened December 15, 2009. Other outlets are: Ayala Center Cebu; Ayala Cart; Carcar; Colon1;Colon2 (Trader’s Market); Elizabeth Mall; Fuente Osmeña; Gaisano Fiesta Mall; LapuLapu; P. Del Rosario; Ranudo Bldg. corner Ramos St. (Velez College); Shoe Mart; Mactan Marina Mall (MEPZ 1); Southgate Plaza (MEPZ 2); Cebu Doctors’ Hospital; Centro Mandaue; Maguikay Mandaue; and Argao.

The Brutus Burger

The hamburger is so much  of a household word even among Cebuanos that only few people have come to wonder of its origins beyond the general knowledge of it being an American food. The more initiated might however care to trace how immigrants from Hamburg, Germany introduced it to North America sometime in the 19th century where it later evolved from an ordinary slab of ground meat sandwich into something embellished with cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion, mustard, etc. Some others may have more scholarly inputs about how the so-called Hamburg style dish was actually brought to Germany by Russians in the 14th century. Meanwhile, there are others who might actually recount readings about how the hamburger “patty” was first noted in the medieval times among a band of Mongolian and Turkish warriors called “Tartars”. With all these, we could so easily spur an animated classroom discussion about other possible “google-able” accounts.

How then did a treat so identifiably American come to be also very much localized, specifically in Cebu? While the details of its actual origin are vague, the hamburger or burger as we now generally call it has one historical account based on real facts—at least, the story of its popularity in Cebu, Philippines.
The tale unfolded in the year 1980 when New Wave and radical folk music began hitting the record stores and blaring louder through the airwaves. These also seemed to herald in the feverish political situation in the Philippines, and with it, a flagging economy. It was only expected that many businesses even then were looking gloomily and nervously at their balance sheets. For some others, business seemed utterly hopeless.

The new Chicken Brutus

Burger Steak

Chocolate Monster

In spite of this picture, two visionary young entrepreneurs admirably strove to find the silver lining. These entrepreneurs determined themselves to write a statement in Cebu’s food industry springing from a mind to revolutionize the food retail industry in the Visayas. And write they did and in bold letters too! This was how the first ever hamburger chain in Cebu – ORANGE BRUTUS was thus born.

The hamburger was a relatively a novel food for the Filipinos at that time but the two entrepreneurs proceeded with the venture with astute boldness. The first store was opened in Colon Street, Cebu City situated in Fairmart –the newest department store then. The first Orange Brutus shop was simple but brightly and attractively decorated. People delighted in the good and reasonably priced food. The charbroiled burgers and fresh fruit shakes were the main sellers.

It has been 30 years since the entrepreneur founders opened the first Orange Brutus outlet. Over the years since then, more food products have been introduced including the best selling Sizzling Burger Steak and Chicken Brutus. Today, Orange Brutus has elevated itself to even higher levels with a known consciousness for the health of its customers. 

While the details of its actual origin are vague, the hamburger or burger as we now generally call it has one historical account based on real facts—at least, the story of its popularity in Cebu, Philippines

Orange Brutus Shakes

The company’s concern is expressed through the healthy and nutritious food it serves. It only uses the freshest ingredients –Fresh fruits for the thirst-quenching fruit shakes, fresh vegetables for its entrée and garnishing. Meanwhile, burgers are charbroiled to ensure meat products are low in LDL or bad cholesterol and are never pre-cooked. Moreover, only corn oil, one of the healthier oils, is used for all the fried items.

From the medieval era to the modern times, from the other side of the globe to Cebu, Philippines… the burger has traversed a very long way regardless of a hazy genesis story. One great thing that stands certain however, is how deep and how long this Cebuano burger chain icon that is, ORANGE BRUTUS has grown on the hearts of many a true blue Cebuano and the loyal patrons it has served in the last three decades. *( Visit http://www.orangebrutus.com/ )