As demand grows for late-night spots: Vietnamese coffee chain opens 24/7 outlet in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines — Coffee shops in Cebu are increasingly positioned to serve as more than places to buy a caffeine fix, as changing consumer habits create demand for spaces that accommodate work, socializing and late-night gatherings.

Highlands Coffee is tapping that market with a 24-hour outlet along Mango Avenue, extending the Vietnamese coffee chain’s Philippine presence in a city where cafes have become part of the urban lifestyle. The store, located at the Two Mango Avenue Building, opened on Oct. 8 and operates around the clock, seven days a week.

Coffee shops are now competing not just through their drinks but also through convenient locations, longer hours and a comfortable place to stay. For students, workers and friends, cafes have become places to study, work, meet and hang out, even outside regular dining hours.

Mango Avenue, a busy commercial corridor in Cebu City, provides a setting for the brand to serve customers whose schedules extend beyond the traditional morning coffee run. A round-the-clock format also allows the outlet to cater to consumers looking for places to gather after work, study late or socialize into the early hours.

Highlands Coffee is bringing its Vietnamese coffee identity to the local market through its signature Phin Sua Da, an iced coffee brewed using a traditional phin filter and combined with condensed milk. The menu also includes other coffee and tea beverages and Vietnamese bánh mì, giving customers food options beyond drinks.

The company offered a 16-ounce serving of Phin Sua Da for 59 pesos from Oct. 11 to 17 as part of its opening promotion.

The expansion comes as coffee consumption increasingly intersects with the broader food-service and lifestyle economy. For operators, the challenge is to turn customer visits into repeat business by combining recognizable products with convenient locations and spaces suited to different occasions.

Supreme Vietnamese Coffee Inc. operates Highlands Coffee in the Philippines. The chain was founded in Hanoi in 1999 and has grown from a packaged coffee business into a network of more than 1,000 outlets across Vietnam.

Its Cebu opening adds to the range of coffee concepts competing for local consumers, bringing a Vietnamese-style offering into a market where cafes serve both functional needs and social purposes. Whether the 24-hour format can sustain demand across all hours will depend on customer traffic and the economics of operating beyond conventional business schedules.