After years in the shadows, the classic fast-food chain Tropical Hut is regaining popularity after being featured in a tweet that recently went viral.
Tropical Hut in Escolta, ako lang ang customer nila. pic.twitter.com/Wl8VcuWT6c
— JP (@dumidyeypee) June 12, 2022
Twitter user JP (@dumidyeypee) posted on Twitter his typical day of eating out at Tropical Hut in the Escolta branch, saying (at the time) he was the only customer at the said branch. The tweet garnered many likes, reactions, and tweets of other people reminiscing their moments eating at Tropical Hut. Some were even amazed at how affordable the meals were at this resto.
Pag kming family pumupunta sa Greenhills, number 1 itinerary namin eh kumain sa TH. Favorite namin ang kanilang burger, chicken, dinuguan at ang the best na macaroni salad. Wish ko lang na sana magkaroon ng branch dito sa South area.
— e (@michaela_duque) June 13, 2022
This morning, i order this daing na bangus breakfast + special ranch burger ( no softdrinks & Fries) i brought my own home mix hot brewed cofi drink. Isang kembot ko lang d2 sa Araneta City, nasa TH nako. What a perfect place 4 me. Busog ako d2 as my brunch. pic.twitter.com/2VJknCBuIL
— B A C O N (@Bacontan2) June 13, 2022
I think they have started to rebrand. Their branches in Monumento & Muñoz have already been renovated. And every time napapadaan ako, it’s not as jam packed as b4 but may mga tao.. my fave is their clubhouse. 😊 their cheeseburger is waaayyy better than Jollibee’s.
— Francis. 💕🌸💚 (@francisDrarity) June 12, 2022
Their branch across Sta. Lucia East is still a hit. Hard to get a seat for our breakfast date during weekends. 😉 But you'll notice that most of their customers are oldies, kaya you'll feel how golden and loved the resto was back in the day.
— Hatdawg (@jimnasiumNTH) June 12, 2022
brings back a lot of memories lalo na for 90s kids. Pero as an adult kapag nakakakita talaga ako ng Tropical Hut, lamon talaga ako. Sad kasi unti unti na nawawala mga branch nila sa North (Novaliches, Fairview are both closed) 🥹🥹🥹
— AP (@randomrob) June 12, 2022
Kumain kami ng jowa ko sa San Antonio Pasig Branch kahapon at ramdam mo na yung store e napaka-nostalgic. Yes, napag-iwanan na ng panahon ang physical appearance ng store pero sa food……dang!…di pa din nagbago ang lasa. pic.twitter.com/0bOURvJwQD
— Jonas Robredo-Pangilinan (@jnsrbrdpnglnnph) June 19, 2022
Following the viral tweet, Tropical Hut found itself gaining more and more attention and customers. Branches are now jam-packed with people dining in, or ordering for take-out or food delivery. Some branches have even reportedly been turning down customers due to the high volume of food delivery orders. In other Tropical Hut branches, stocks had run low due to the sudden increase in demand on their menu items.
Tropical Hut Hamburger at Riverbanks Marikina yesterday evening
They reserved all their burgers for Grab Food orders. Dine in clients can only buy chicken, spaghetti, palabok, sandwiches pic.twitter.com/q7vSxdjupt
— José /hoh-seh/ (@jpeb) June 20, 2022
To those who ordered from the Tropical Hut Makati branch… be kind 🍔☀️ pic.twitter.com/c5hhAZpBjL
— Tammy David (@tammydavid) June 17, 2022
A few days later, JP tweeted that Tropical Hut is expanding its team and is now open to hiring new employees.
Tropical Hut is now hiring people for deployment ASAP ☺ pic.twitter.com/seNF1RHVh6
— JP (@dumidyeypee) June 19, 2022
This is full-on display of just how powerful social media is. With just a simple tweet, the fast-food chain that had seemingly been forgotten for years is now gaining renewed interest from Filipinos.
With a viral tweet having the power to bring back attention to an old establishment, we can definitely use the same social media power to grow interest for our other homegrown brands. There are other classic establishments that also deserve their earned media time, so people can enjoy revisiting them again–exactly like what happened to Tropical Hut.
Orange Brutus
Orange Brutus is the first-ever brand that brought hamburgers to Cebu. The burger joint offers not only hamburgers and shakes but also different rice meals. Currently, they have 19 locations around Cebu City.
Icebergs
Icebergs prides itself in being “the home of the Super Halo-Halo and Best Sisig in town” for almost 35 years. They currently have 13 branches as of March 2021, and continue to serve Filipino dishes and desserts to patrons.
Isetann Department Store
Before the explosion of lifestyle malls, and even way before malls became an established location for groceries and shopping, the go-to place of the people back then was Isetann Department Store located in Quiapo, Manila. Isetann still has a number of branches, with a lot of boutiques, stores, and restaurants. It also has cinemas! Isetann is still operating up to this day, and while definitely not as lifestyle-centric as some of the more prominent malls in the metro, many have pointed out how a lot of their price points are actually better than those from e-commerce sites. You can actually build a bedroom or living room showcase from their Home and Improvement section, at very competitive rates.
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