Our Story
Twenty-plus years of pizza, music and friends.
Handuraw (han-doo-rau) is the Cebuano word for “the power to imagine.”
- 2004
Handuraw Events Café opens in Mabolo, Cebu City — a home for full bands and upcoming Cebuano talent.
- 2007
Handuraw Pizza moves into an old house on Gorordo Avenue, with live music every night of the week.
- 2012–15
New branches at JY Square, Kasambagan and Mango Square.
- 2023
A new, more spacious home in Subangdaku, Mandaue City — with free parking and a function room.
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Share a slice, share a story with Handuraw Pizza!
Handuraw Pizza traces its roots back to 2004, as the “Handuraw Events Café”, located in COACO Building (now The Persimmon), along M.J. Cuenco Avenue, Mabolo, Cebu City, Philippines. Handuraw is owned and managed by Kasidlakan Incorporated, a company of the Pestaño-Smith family that envisions Handuraw Pizza as a Filipino pizza restaurant that would foster a strong sense of friendship and community brought out by great food, artistic and homey ambiance, positive energies and unhurried, joyful conversations.
The Meaning Behind Our Name
Handuraw is pronounced as han-doo-rau and was coined by the family’s matriarch Becky Pestaño Smith as a result of looking for an old Cebuano word that would embody vision, and creativity. It is the Cebuano word for “the power to imagine.”
Our Beginnings
Handuraw Mabolo as it was called, was born out of the desire to create a separate venue from its then sister-company Kahayag Café that catered to local acoustic acts. Located just behind Kahayag, Handuraw catered to full bands and other musical genres. Aside from its main events and dining area, it also had an internet café, a jamming room studio where bands could book their practice sessions, and a karaoke room. Through the efforts of our marketing director, Zarah Smith, Handuraw Mabolo served as a one-of-a-kind watering hole for established and upcoming Cebuano talents.
The Birth of Our Pizza
Alongside the growth of the Events Café was the development of our own line of thin-crust pizzas. Through the efforts of siblings Gina Pestaño-Castro and Marissa Pestaño-Basilad, we developed an original and unique recipe of thin-crust pizza doughs. Pizza became the food of choice for us when research indicated that pizza had become a universal comfort food, craved for by people all over the world with each country putting their own stamp to its identity.
It was also learned that the dining experience of eating pizzas (regardless of pizza size and diners’ age and interests) is generally a communal or group experience, and serves to foster friendship and camaraderie.
In 2007, Handuraw Pizza opened in an old house along Gorordo Avenue. The Gorordo branch continues the Events Café concept catering to local music acts every night of the week from live piano afternoons, acoustic band nights, open-mic Tuesdays, Artist-of-the-Month features, 60’s Nights, and local bands on weekends. Its second floor also caters to functions and has been the venue for free movie showings, gay pride gatherings, and senior citizen nights. Starting in November 2014, the branch hosts the Saturdays Cebu Farmers’ Market where local, fresh and organically grown & produced fruits, vegetables & products from local farmers in Cebu can be purchased.
In 2012, we opened a branch in JY Square, Cebu City catering primarily to the BPO community. And in 2013, Kasidlakan Inc. opened another branch in Kasambagan, Cebu City however this was closed in 2016 transferred to the White Gold Club, in the North Reclamation Area between SM City and Robinsons Galleria. Prior to this latest branch, Kasidlakan returned to the scene at Mango Avenue in December of 2015 at the ground floor of the Mango Square mall.
Handuraw Pizza also prides itself for being one of the first local business establishments to showcase music videos of local artists in our TV screens. We also have a “good neighbor policy” that gives preferential discounts to neighboring schools and universities in the vicinity of our branches.
New Beginnings
The COVID-19 pandemic’s lasting impact led to the closure of our JY Square and Mango Square locations. In mid-2023, we found our new home in Subangdaku, Mandaue City, where we continue to thrive today. Our new location features the same beloved menu of pizzas, rice bowls, pica-picas, and beverages, a function room, but now in a more spacious setting with ample parking. We’ve enhanced the experience with acoustic performances on weekday evenings and live local bands every Friday and Saturday. Our popular Trivia Nights with Quiz Night Cebu remain a Friday tradition, and our expanded space with free parking makes us perfect for hosting larger groups.
We remain committed to serving Cebu’s best-tasting thin-crust pizzas in a venue supportive of local music and the arts. Come dine, and chill with us at our Mandaue City home and share a slice, share a story with Handuraw Pizza! Padayon kita!