This Marikina Shoe Factory-Turned-Restaurant Gives Us Retro Feels
If the Marikina Shoe Museum reminds people of the city's illustrious past as a shoe capital, Industriya actually immerses them in it. A former tannery for snake and frog skins, Dr. Alfredo Cheng and family revived the building from a state of decrepitude into a place that celebrates Marikina's glory days.Â
"We wanted to bring back the history of Marikina, what it used to be in the 1960s and 70s compared to now," says Dr. Cheng, whose family once ran the factory and exported ladies's shoes to different countries.Â
The factory's second life sees it as a quaint restaurant and events space. The Cheng family repurposed materials from the old structure into furniture and decor, creating several conversation pieces in the process. Large machinery now stand like sculpture in certain areas, shoelasts decorate the stair banisters (below), and old leather was used to cover dining chairs and tables.
While the place evokes nostalgia, its menu does its best to root you in the present with its mix of Filipino, Asian, and Japanese cuisine.
While the old factory was renovated for restaurant use, the public areas still maintain a midcentury-modern-look.
Colored bottles hovering over the main dining area make for unique lighting fixtures.Â
There is a factory-like feel in the dining area, as the original wooden posts are retained. Sampaguita glass and vintage wrought iron grille partitions divide the dining areas.
References to the restaurant's former use as a shoe factory can be seen throughout the spaces, like these shoelasts used as feet for a banquette.
Old leather is used for upholstery of the tufted banquette seats. Some of the photos on the walls and ceilings are of Dr. Cheng's mother. Â
Even the bar area has a nostalgic feel. Some of the patchwork stools are made out of up-cycled scraps.
The factory's old machinery now serve as "art installations" in the al fresco dining area.
Industriya is located at 23 M.A. Roxas St., Calumpang, Marikina City, or visit their website.Â
