Manila LGBTQIA+ find ‘home’ in this queer-friendly café in QC

For queer couple Nariese Giangan and Chippy Abando, comfort food and a rainbow aesthetic can make anyone feel at home—and free to be who they areLaunching a physical shop in the middle of a business-crippling pandemic might be unthinkable to some, more so in one of the country’s COVID-19 hotspots like Quezon City.

Giangan finally opened FFTG Café with girlfriend-business partner Abando right on the latter’s birthday this year. They had planned to open in mid-2021 but the location they found could not be reserved for long. With health and safety measures in place, FFTG is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It welcomes professionals working remotely to hang out at the place for as long as they like—it’s part of the cafe’s way of creating that sense of home and“A lot of people have been telling us that they are happy and excited that we opened a cafe and not a bar. I guess we’ve been looking for a space like FFTG Café where we can just be sober and have good and meaningful conversations.

Giangan calls FFTG a safe and free space, with an exception: “We don’t allow homophobic and rude people inside the shop. I want our customers to be themselves, to be happy. We can laugh about anything but not at the expense of other people.” Surprisingly thriving amid a crisis, FFTG as a young business is telling of the socio-political climate it is in. It strives to be politically relevant not just regarding pride, Giangan says, but also with other issues concerning poverty, governance, and even the environment .

Surprisingly thriving amid a crisis, FFTG as a young business is telling of the socio-political climate it is in. It strives to be politically relevant not just regarding pride, Nariese Giangan says, but also with other issues concerning poverty, governance, and even the environment .

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