Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) opened Naga City’s newest lifestyle destination last week. The huge mall aims to provide an even more exciting twist to the local shopping and dining experience in the area. Featured in this mall are a selection of international and local retail brands, modern and traditional food concepts, and spacious movie theaters.
“This is our 46th mall and our first mall in the Bicol region,” said Arlene Magtibay, senior vice president and general manager of Robinsons Land Corporation’s commercial center division during Robinsons Place Naga’s grand opening last August 15.
“This is truly a first class, in fact, a world class-mall,” Magtibay continued, describing the features of the 56, 000 sqm-sized mall located along Almeda Highway and Roxas Avenue.
The mall houses Robinsons’ key stores such as the Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Supermarket, Handyman, and Robinsons Appliance. Apart from these staple brands plus a 300-seater food court, Robinsons Place Naga is also featuring local and international brands that are making its way for the first time in the region.
“We are very proud of this mall not only because it is very well designed, but because we are able to curate stores and restaurants that you would really like. We have brought in a lot of merchants and retailers that will be here for the first time,” Magtibay shared.
These tenants include Filipino brands like Choobi Choobi, HapChan, Cabalen, and Kuya J’s among others. International concepts such as Bonchon and Kenny Rogers have also opened their first branch in the city through the mall.
International retail brands such as Uniqlo and Levi’s are also making its way for the first time in this region.
Entertainment in the city also gets an upgrade as well with the opening of Robinsons Movieworld, which features six digital cinemas, one of which in 3D. With nearby food outlets and comfortable seats inside the cinema, movie-goers are sure to have the ultimate entertaining experience.
As public service, Robinsons Place Naga also has placed the Lingkod Pinoy Center, which houses relevant government agencies such as Social Security System, Philhealth, Pagibig, and Professional Regulatory Commission among others.
Love for local
The new mall is Naga City’s first mixed-used complex and caters to the nearby municipalities of Milaor, Pamplona, Ragay, Liboro, Tagkawayan, Bula, Baao, as well as cities of Iriga and Bato.
With such, Robinsons Place Naga partnered with favorite homegrown food brands that successfully made a name in the region to offer the most-loved Bicolano local fare.
Myron Lawrence Yao, RLC’s regional operations manager, noted “We wanted to cater more on F&B, and on amusement and services. People, especially millennials, really crave for new restaurants. We have a lot of local players here. Actually the big, strong brands of locals are here.”
These must-visit food concepts include Bob Marlin, which is known for their sumptuous crispy pata and laing; Triboo Grill, which is known for their savory chicken inasal and grilled pork belly; Molino Grill, which is known for their tasty grilled farmer’s cut beef belly; Crown Park, which is known for their mouth-watering hong ma with bread and variety of dim sum; and Bigg’s Diner which is a leading food chain in Bicol known for American and Filipino favorites.
For the sweet tooth and for those looking for pasalubong (souvenir), shop for pandecillos at Caramel; square cakes at Baker’s Plaza; variety of cakes at Cake My Day Cafe; pili nuts and mazapan de pili at J. Emmanuel; refreshing shakes from Earthquake; and sili ice cream and other vegetable-inspired ice cream flavors at 1st Colonial.
Inspiring design and art works
To complement the world-class shopping and dining experience of shoppers, Robinsons Place Naga does away from the usual plain, bare-faced mall interior and instead, features iconic Bicolano motifs in its design.
Interspersed inside the three-level commercial building are different murals, structures, and design elements inspired from pili nut and gabi (taro) leaves.
The mall’s ceilings will surely catch one’s eyes with its large leaf-shaped decor illuminated by bright LED lights. On the other hand, shoppers will also notice the large structure at the al fresco area, which is made of fiber glass and also features imprints of taro leaves. It was made by artist Jefre Manuel, and stands high at 15 meters.
Robinsons Place Naga’s pillars were not left bare, particularly those at the third floor. Artist Anina Rubio splashed colors and created murals with inspirational quotes for Instagram-worthy photos as well as to brighten the day of shoppers.
Expansion
More exciting things are ahead for the property as a two-level office structure will be annexed to the mall, and is set to house a BPO office. Scheduled to open in the coming months, the BPO company is expected to generate more employment opportunities in the city.
A Summit Hotel and Go Hotel, which are set to further enliven Naga’s business activities will also rise beside the mall.
“We have a lot of plans in store for Robinsons Place Naga for it to be the favorite hangout place of Nagaenos,” Magtibay excitedly shared.
