One of Katipunan’s hidden gems is the swarming cafes that cater to the students in need of late night caffeine and a quiet cozy place to do their work, well then, Nine Three Cafe is the perfect place to go!
Owners, Franz Lim, Ryan Ng, Jay Norris Go, Keith Shy, and Taks Arguelles, aged 31 to 32 started the cafe in hopes of continuing the old cafe that stood in its place with the vision of making it a Magic: The Gathering game place as well as a hangout and study location for students.
The cafe, located in 75B Rosa Alvaro (straight from Mcdo and Shakeys), got their name from a very interesting backstory.
When asked how the Nine Three cafe got its unique and unusual name, Jay, Ryan and Keith shared a laugh and only Ryan managed to ruffle out a response, “Which explanation do you want to hear?”
The answer to their uncontrollable laughter is because the true story of the name comes from a Magic character named Yargle who’s strength and toughness ratio is 9/3, which also happened to be the owners’ favorite character in the game. While it also just happens to be the date the cafe officially opened in 2019.
“It was a happy coincidence.” Franz said.
Source: Instagram | @ninethreecafeph
The cafe, which is open Mondays to Saturdays, 12nn to 11:30pm, garners a small and homey feel to the safe space that encapsulates what Nine Three is all about. A place where everyone is welcome to converse and share interests with good wifi, music, food, coffee and people.
With more and more cafe’s emerging within the Katipunan area, this one is something that should not be overlooked for it’s small space, because despite its size, the quantity of foot traffic it receives is far from small.
To thank for the emerging presence of the cafe is Tracy Monsod, Nine Three’s adviser who handles the social media engagement it accumulates, where the majority of the population receives its news intake from.
Nine Three’s instagram (@ninethreecoffeeph) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ninethreecoffeeph/) are filled with their everso growing menu that includes crowd favorites like tomato soup, pasta al limon, babka, and Ryan’s secret stuff, which is an ice cream-based caffeine beverage.
Nine Three Cafe is definitely a coffee shop gaining the looks of the students around the area, known not just for their to-die for pasta, but for the hospitable and local entrepreneurs who created a safe space for everyone.
Source: Instagram | @ninethreecafeph
Katipunan Kulture 