KAMSACK — The aroma of Filipino delicacies fills the air as a new restaurant, Glipy Cups, opens its doors in Kamsack. What started as a dream among friends has blossomed into a business, offering a blend of Filipino flavours alongside Western favourites.
“When we first came here about nine years ago, there wasn't really much of the Filipino community. We were probably about 50 at the most. And now we've actually more than tripled in population, probably about 200,” said Katherine Gustilo, one of the owners, reflecting on the journey that led to the restaurant's inception during an interview with the Kamsack Times/SASKTODAY.ca.
Driven by a desire to share their rich culinary heritage with the local community, the group of healthcare providers, including nurses and healthcare aides, pooled their resources and expertise to embark on this venture. With a keen eye on authenticity and quality, they have carefully curated a menu that showcases traditional Filipino dishes alongside popular Western food.
“It's been steady. We've had a lot of people because our main goal is not just to make money. It's more to get people to know our culture, food-wise,” said Gustilo.
Despite initial challenges, including sourcing fresh ingredients and navigating the intricacies of the restaurant business, the owners remain undeterred in their mission.
Gastilo said, “The previous owner has already been closed for three months. We've decided not to use whatever was left and to start from scratch because we were thinking this is our first restaurant and we don't want to screw it up. We want to offer everything fresh that way. So we bought a lot of stuff initially by ourselves because the orders that we put through didn't get here in time. So there was a difference between the fries, the first fries that we offered were coated and then when our stocks came that we bought from a company that delivers to our location they were not coated so people were complaining about the size, about how they used to be coated and now it's not. So we had a meeting and said ‘You know what, we have to go back to what the people, want so we went back to the coated fries.’”
"We want to make it work. This is something that we value. This is something that we wanted, so we're working hard for it," said Gustilo.
Looking ahead, the owners are eager to expand their menu offerings, introducing more Filipino specialties such as Halo-Halo, a shaved ice dessert drink that Gustilo described as, “It's got crushed ice, some fruit cocktails like some jello or gelatin, some ice cream with different tapioca flavours and it's got fruits in there.”
Plans for a grand opening celebration are in the works for sometime in May, accompanied by adjustments to pricing to ensure accessibility for more of their customers.
Gustilo and the other owners finished the interview by adding, “We'd like to thank everybody for their support, the Filipino community, the First Nation community, the Town of Kamsack, our work family for always coming to work, and the people of Kamsack for their great support. Since we opened they've supported us. Even with the mishaps they would let us see what we can do to improve our service and our food that way.”
