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Yolanda's Eatery, Haiyan Hotel: Businesses flourish from monster storm's ruins

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Arianne Merez, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/11/06/eatery.jpg"/><figcaption>The Yolanda Eatery in San Jose Village in Tacloban City, reopened in 2016, 3 years after Super Typhoon Yolanda hit central Philippines. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>TACLOBAN CITY -- Jennylyn Hayag wipes the sweat from her forehead as she prepares to welcome the Sunday lunch crowd at her eatery that is the namesake of a monster storm that killed thousands in this coastal city 6 years ago.</p><p>It took 3 years for Hayag, 50, to rebuild Yolanda&#x27;s Eatery, known for its kilawin (ceviche), grilled squid, and buttered shrimp and counts among its customers, television host Boy Abunda and actress turned Congresswoman Lucy Torres-Gomez.</p><p>Named after her mother, Yolanda Manrique, who died of a stroke in 2011, Hayag refused to rename the eatery before it reopened. Some 6,300 people were dead or missing after super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) struck central Philippines on Nov. 8, 2013, triggering storm surges that wiped out entire communities.</p><p>&quot;There was nothing in my mind or imagination that gave me the idea that we could rebuild the eatery. I believe it was prayer and God’s will,&quot; Hayag told ABS-CBN News.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/11/06/yolanda-eatery-mother.jpg"/><figcaption>Jennylyn Hayag holds a photo of her late mother Yolanda Manrique, after whom Yolanda&#x27;s Eatery was named. <em>Jonathan Cellona. ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Nothing was left of the old Yolanda&#x27;s Eatery, which stood along the shore of San Jose village. Hayag rebuilt it farther from the sea.</p><p>&quot;Many people say that it’s bad because thousands died during Typhoon Yolanda but for me, the storm’s name was only a coincidence. This business is very close to my heart, I remember my mother because of this,&quot; she said.</p><div><strong>STEADY REBUILDING</strong></div><p>Hotels, restaurants and other businesses across Eastern Visayas were steadily rebuilt in the years after Yolanda, one of the world&#x27;s strongest storms on record, according to a 2018 report by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). </p><p>In 2018, the region&#x27;s gross domestic product grew 5.9 percent, buoyed by the services sector, which makes up 40 percent of the economy, the PSA said.</p><p>In Tanauan town, around 40 minutes by car from Tacloban, stands Haiyan Hotel, named after the killer storm. It boasts of a swimming pool called &quot;Ground Zero,&quot; a café called &quot;Coffee Surge,&quot; and function rooms named after storm signals.</p><p>&quot;It’s a celebration of the resilience of the Leyteños despite what happened during Yolanda,&quot; said the hotel&#x27;s general manager, Rolf Yu.</p><div class="media-content"><div class="slider-for"><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/11/06/hotel1.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/11/06/hotel2.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/11/06/hotel3.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/11/06/hotel4.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/11/06/hotel5.jpg"/></div></div><div class="slider-desc"><div class="item-desc"><p>The Haiyan Hotel in Tanauan, Leyte was inspired by the Super Typhoon Yolanda which devastated central Philippines in 2013.<cite> Jonathan Cellona ABS-CBN News</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>The Haiyan Hotel in Tanauan, Leyte was inspired by the Super Typhoon Yolanda which devastated central Philippines in 2013.<cite> Jonathan Cellona ABS-CBN News</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>The Haiyan Hotel in Tanauan, Leyte was inspired by the Super Typhoon Yolanda which devastated central Philippines in 2013.<cite> Jonathan Cellona ABS-CBN News</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>The Haiyan Hotel in Tanauan, Leyte was inspired by the Super Typhoon Yolanda which devastated central Philippines in 2013.<cite> Jonathan Cellona ABS-CBN News</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>The Haiyan Hotel in Tanauan, Leyte was inspired by the Super Typhoon Yolanda which devastated central Philippines in 2013.<cite> Jonathan Cellona ABS-CBN News</cite></p></div></div></div><p>Originally built in 2014 as an eatery called Haiyan Foodstop, it was remodeled into a hotel in 2018. Yu said the hotel met its target revenues in its first year of operations while the restaurant remains a hit among tourists for its crispy pata (deep-fried pork knuckles) and bulalo (beef bone marrow soup).</p><p>&quot;The name makes it easy to remember and it helps so that people wouldn’t forget that Yolanda happened,&quot; Yu said.</p><div><strong>STORM SURVIVORS</strong></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/11/06/survivor.jpg"/><figcaption>A man walks by the Survivor Auto Parts and Surplus Center in downtown Tacloban City, Nov. 3, 2019. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>In downtown Tacloban, Survivor Auto Parts and Surplus Center stands as a tribute to the resilience of its employees, all of whom lived to tell stories of the deluge.</p><p>&quot;No one among us died so we’re all survivors,&quot; said shopkeeper James Cabus.</p><p>Since it opened in May 2014, Cabus said the shop has become a go-to place for car batteries and lights.</p><p>Yu, the hotel manager, said using tragedy as an &quot;inspiration&quot; for business is a way for survivors to look at the &quot;bright side&quot; after Yolanda.</p><p>&quot;Many people actually find it amusing. Everyone knows about Yolanda and the deaths. But it’s time we celebrate the resilience of the people,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>For survivors of one of the world's strongest and deadliest typhoons, embracing their tragic past helped them get back on their feet.</p>

For survivors of one of the world's strongest and deadliest typhoons, embracing their tragic past helped them get back on their feet.

Yolanda's Eatery, Haiyan Hotel: Businesses flourish from monster storm's ruins

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Yolanda's Eatery, Haiyan Hotel: Businesses flourish from monster storm's ruins

Arianne Merez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 06, 2019 05:57 AM PHT

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Updated Nov 06, 2019 08:42 AM PHT

Read More:

Yolanda

Haiyan

entrepreneur

poverty

Tacloban

disaster

Super Typhoon Yolanda

Leyte

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