Police officials are buoyed by the success of the Noy Honesto Coffee Shop in the headquarters and hope it will evolve as a successful cooperative.
“I am very optimistic that this will grow in the next few months,” said Senior Supt. Noel Gillamac, chief of the Cebu Provincial Police Office.
The self-service cafe in the headquarters is run by the Cebu Provincial Police Office Consumers Cooperative.
“I think in a few years time, we will become like the CFI,” said Gillamac, referring to the 52-year-old Cebu CFI Cooperative which started as an initiative of Capitol and court employees who wanted to get away from loans sharks, and now has 82,000 members and capital of P7 billion.
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The Cebu Provincial Police Office Consumers’ Cooperative runs the Noy Honesto Café at their headquarters.
The cafe earned P54,238 in its first seven months of operation this year. The starting capital of P15,000 was returned to the police cooperative.
Gillamac said the freshly baked bread and pastries delivered daily by inmates of the Cebu provincial jail, who make them, has been a hit among the police personnel, and is easily sold out before the day is over.
The coffee shop whose name was inspired by the teleserye “Honesto,” counts police personnel and visiting customers as their clientele.
Customers choose from snacks displayed in the self-service cafe and leave their payment in a transparent jar.
With no attendants to man the store, the co-op counts on the honesty of their customers to settle their bill.
The café has tables for dining guests, an LED TV with cable connection, electric fans and free Wi-Fi.
Gillamac said three persons expressed interest to secure a franchise of the Noy Honesto Café.
He said interested investors have to pay the co-op P20,000 for the right to operate extensions since they applied for a copyright with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
“DTI already approved and given us the copyright for our logo as well as the concept,” Gillamac said.
The police co-op is inviting more members like police personnel assigned in the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT). Applicants have to undergo a seminar to join the co-op.
He said they offer P3,000 financial assistance for schooling. Members who get sick can receive 30 percent reimbursement of their hospital bills.
Their families can also receive P20,000 cash aid if they die in the line of duty as well as other benefits, Gillamac said.