In this exclusive interview, Maritel Nievera, President & CEO of Cabalen Group, retraces the origins of her entrepreneurial journey with the Filipino food icon Cabalen.

At its heart, the story of Cabalen is one that is inextricably linked to Maritel Nievera’s home, Pampanga, and its famed culinary delights. It is also the story of a woman entrepreneur, a single mother, who challenged larger, established Filipino restaurant chains, and found a place among them as a Filipino food icon.

The Business Manual held an exclusive interview with Maritel Nievera, President & CEO of the Cabalen Group, at the Glorietta branch of Cabalen, and sat down with her to talk about her remarkable success as an entrepreneur. Today, Cabalen restaurants can be found virtually anywhere in the Philippines, all over Metro Manila as well as in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, with 41 branches (and counting). With its incredible staying power for over more than 30 years, the company Maritel built has also expanded beyond Cabalen restaurants. In tune with an ever-changing market, the Cabalen Group of Companies has evolved to give Filipinos a taste of the world.