Making our SOMA Pilipinas Ecosystem Bloom into the Dream Neighborhood We All Deserve
Kultivate Labs has recently started a partnership with Sarap Shop’s Kristen Brillantes, JP Reyes, and James Brillantes to co-lead SEED Network Programming. Starting up in 2016, The Sarap Shop has been serving up Filipino-American comfort food, and all its iterations, to the “every-vores” in our community. Using their lens of hospitality and innovation, their mission of creating a sense of belonging and bringing out the best in people through food has extended through different modes such as the Sarap Shop Food Truck, their stand in the Chase Center, and now, their business design and development studio where they support rising entrepreneurs and creatives.
“We noticed that when I was working full time in corporate, when we’d have group meals, if one person had hella allergies, requirements, or preferences, I noticed that they’d show up differently in meetings. It’s never a great experience to have to cobble something together off the sides of a menu. They’d be a little more self-conscious. They’d be a little bit more hesitant to contribute an idea. It made us think, ‘what if their contribution could really unlock something?’ And how does this affect their relationship building with others? We also see similar dynamics when new people are introduced to friend groups. Or new significant others are meeting parents for the first time. So at the core of our menu design processes, we always try to be as inclusive as possible. We aim to have something every person can look forward to, so food can truly be a connector for anyone you might find at any table you gather.”
During my time with Sarap Shop, I was immediately met with a warm and inviting environment full of laughter and stories. They reminded me that I would be okay and that there is room for fun and community while working.
Every exchanged word, every piece of wisdom offered by the three, and in every story they shared, they affirmed that SOMA Pilipinas was in caring and intentional hands. Sarap Shop believes in the community that already exists here, and knows that there is so much potential that we have yet to unlock and share with the world.
In an interview with Kristen, JP, and James, they talk about their origin story, what it looks like to work with SEED Network and build a dream neighborhood, and give a little advice to aspiring business entrepreneurs.
In this interview:
Origins of the Sarap Shop
What does this collaboration mean for us?
What is your Dream Community?
Advice for Creatives and Entrepreneurs
Origins of Sarap Shop
Q: When did you all know that you wanted to create unique yet familiar Filipino foods? Was there a pivotal moment for y’all?
James: So prior to starting the Sarap Shop, JP was already working with Google and their corporate catering kitchen and he was spearheading an all plant-based food program. He got to experiment with a lot of new food tech that was coming out. During this time he was surprised to learn many people were still unfamiliar with Filipino food so he started developing recipes that integrated his memories. And then, when I started dating my wife who is vegetarian, it was more inspiration for us. Because when she would come over to my parents house for family dinner, it was always a topic of discussion of ‘what is she going to eat?’ My parents weren’t very familiar with vegan and vegetarian cooking. So my wife has always been our product tester as we were developing different recipes.
Kristen: Growing up in the Philippines, James would always go to billiard halls and sisig was like THE thing you ate there. We always reminisced and told stories at family dinner, and we wanted James’ now wife, Cyn, to get to try sisig so she could have a taste of James’ memories hustling people in these billiard halls. [laughing] And also I think JP was on his journey of reconnecting with Filipino cooking. His mom doesn’t cook a lot of Filipino food but my mom does. JP and my mom began to bond a lot as he learned our family recipes.
JP: Yeah, I was self-taught and couldn’t afford to go to culinary school at the time. From the kitchen experiences I received, I was exposed to different types of ingredients and techniques. It really unlocked interesting ways to integrate my approach, and appreciate food and sharing it with others.
“Each dish on our menu has a specific person that inspires it. Like in our households – and I think this is true for most Filipino households – you are inspired to cook for the people you love.”
-Kristen Brillantes
The Collaboration
Q: What does it mean for Sarap Shop to collaborate with SEED Network and what sparked this collaboration?
Kristen: When we started Sarap Shop, we never wanted to do it in isolation. I think when we decided to be independent business owners, we thought “When we grow to have our own spot, we’re going to have business neighbors. And they’re going to be our coworkers in a way that we get to see everyday.” In joining SEED, for us, this means we get to help make sure that heart vision can really come true. We’re not just leaving it to chance but actually carrying forward that spirit of bayanihan.
James: At the start of this year, we made existing plans to carve out even more time for community work. And during a catch up with Desi, we talked about our updated business plans and he had the idea of integrating our community work more with SEED. He opened up the opportunity for us to put together a proposal. As we built our proposal, we fell more in love with the work. We shared it with Desi and the rest of the Kultivate team and then here we are!
“In terms of our connection with Kultivate Labs, they’ve been there since our start. Desi, Dre, and Marco worked with us on our V1 branding. Then through events like the first UNDISCOVERED, initiatives like Filipinos Feed the Frontlines, and our Little Piña incubator food trailer, we organically grew a partnership in supporting one another. Now having joined Kultivate, it’s come full circle.”
Q: Who are ACEs and SF Rebuilders?
Q: Are there specific projects that you’re willing to share right now?
James: You will have to stay tuned! If anybody vibes with either of those categories, please follow the SEED Network on IG, and we’ll keep you posted on ways to participate and collab.
Q: What are you most excited about in joining Kultivate Labs?
James: I’m excited to be a part of building this neighborhood. It’s just so surprising to me that the area I used to go out to and enjoy the most in SOMA is a ghost town. It’s a big project and I know it’s not going to all be solved in the next year or two. But I know that years from now, I will be like ‘wow, I can’t believe that we were part of this project to help grow this neighborhood that all these other Filipino-Americans – like seventh, eight, tenth generation Filipino-Americans can enjoy. And even folks that aren’t even Filipino, they can feel like they can enjoy this community with us, too.’
Kristen: There are tons of people who have been in the neighborhood for so long and doing so much to pour love and care into it. Like United Playaz, West Bay, Little Skillet, JT’s, and many more. They’ve been pillars, and we need more folks planted with that same spirit. We’re excited to join at this stage because we care a lot about the experience of building. Pursuing economic independence and carving your own path is one of the most unnerving, unraveling, scary processes with potential to create trauma. And while it will be challenging, we know and believe through our own experience it can also be fun, healing, and incredibly liberating, especially with the support of Kultivate Labs. It is an unprecedented time and we’re humbled to have the opportunity to get to contribute to that.
JP: To add onto what Kristen said, some people and events have already established themselves in the neighborhood like Bindlestiff Studio, Pistahan, SomCan, Filipino Cultural Center, the Transgender and Leather districts to name a few. They’ve planted roots, providing resources when and where possible. They activate the areas, inviting the community in. What’s exciting is thinking about the potential partnerships and working with others that have this same vision — that it is our time to take up our space and feel seen.
Kristen: And Kultivate Labs’ approach is uniquely Bay Area. Here in the Bay, education and community-building are pillars in this work. It is nice to be able to prototype and test different models for neighborhood development where economic independence is not divorced from emotional or community healing. We’re not out here to promote individualist ‘get rich at all costs.’ If your peers aren't able to sustain, we are not collectively thriving. We’re all in this together and we won’t settle for less.
The Dream Neighborhood
Q: In five years what would you hope your impact will look like? What is your dream neighborhood?
JP: This is clearly our dream neighborhood! [All laughing] In five years, we want SOMA Pilipinas to also be on everyone’s must-do list when going to San Francisco. We want it to be a neighborhood people would be excited to set up shop and also move into to live in, and accessible to do either, especially for the Filipino community. We hope to help create an inviting space where every type of Filipino—whether you're mixed race, first-gen, or seventh-gen, or if you’re Filipino by association because you grew up in a place where all your friends are Filipino—can feel welcomed and belong. We want it to have the spirit of San Francisco’s quirky creativity plus the loud joy and never-feel-alone vibes we know from the Philippines.
Kristen: We do hope that a notable proportion of spaces are in some configuration Filipino-owned and operated, even if the contents of it aren’t Filipino-forward, to promote economic prosperity and independence. And we really hope it can be inclusive of all the diversity we know and love to be present in our community and San Francisco overall. It should be intergenerational, intersectional, and accessible. And as much as it inspires creativity and possibility, it should inspire hella healing and hella fun.
James: In five years, I would hope to look back on this and feel super proud of all the permanent vendors that we were able to help to grow and thrive in the SOMA Pilipinas district.
Kristen: In addition to that, hopefully in five years, it’s not just the three of us – we hope there are even more people involved in SEED further growing how we all support one another.
James: Yes, and not just working with other Filipinos but working collaboratively with other organizations in San Francisco, too. I think what we’re finding is there’s somewhat of a disconnect between groups that are in San Francisco. So it’s really nice to meet some of those people through our work with SEED and bridge more relationships together.
JP: Yeah, it’s already great that we are seeing the Kultivate x KOHO relationship with Japantown, y’know, seeing more relationships like that. I hope that what we’re doing can also inspire other folks that are in our community to be on board and help support, by going out and supporting the effort everyone is putting in.
Advice for Creatives and Entrepreneurs
Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d want to give to aspiring entrepreneurs, creatives, maybe somebody who might come into the SEED Network soon?
JP: For me, it's to try things out. Be curious. Get an idea and perspective of what you want to experiment with and what you try out. Find out that you like it? Great! If not? It’s ok! Try a different approach and/or move and keep going. We learn and grow from these experiences.
Kristen: Try it before you buy it! [all laughing] I always encourage people to embrace the spirit of design, of prototyping and testing things. Not just in your craft or concept, but also your personal experience of it. Center your fun in whatever you build. And don’t do it alone. Build alongside people who share your values and ideal pace of life.
James: Yeah, I’d say the fear of failure is always going to be there, but it’s how you overcome that and rethink a failed moment. To pivot into figuring out what you can do differently to make something different happen. And make time for healing and self-care through the process.
