451°F Books & Café

I. Company History
The café began with owners Michael and Leah Reyes. Having found relative
success online as regional distributors of Zero Waste Refilling Station, a Cebu-
based store that provides and refills household sanitation products to encourage
eco-friendly and sustainable practices, the couple began receiving inquiries as to a
physical store their clients in Dumaguete could visit. Not content with creating a
simple space for storage and exchange, the owners decided to create a lounge area
so clients could wait and stay in comfort providing food and other comforts. Being
individuals with various interests, the owners began filling the space with items of
their interests to share with clients who may be attracted to them.
Eventually, the lounge area began to take on a life of its own as more and
more patrons with greater interest in the lounge area and the items kept there
arrived. And so it was, that late in 2021 the café was moved to a location with
better accessibility and space to accommodate patrons of the café itself. In that
same time, the owners re-envisioned the space as an area for special interests after
the Covid-19 lockdown caused many establishments providing the same service
were forced to close, some permanently, leaving their patrons without businesses
catering to their needs. Before the move, the café had begun consigning products
from one such establishment that closed its physical shop; and after the move, the
decision was made to begin hosting events and filling the niche needs that the
closed establishments left behind.
At this time, the café has continued to expand the special interests it caters to
including a focus on trading card games, tabletop games, and literature, while
maintaining a space for its original identity as a physical shop visited by patrons of
the household sanitation supply refilling station.
II. Vision/Mission
Vision:
To become a space that begins and promotes communities focused around
interests, advocacies, and hobbies; encourages interests in literature and
storytelling; and maintains an environment of inclusivity and acceptance.
Mission:
To provide a comfortable space for special interest communities within
Dumaguete.
III. Company Milestones
 Began in Late 2020
 Partnered with hobby shop, 3j’s to carry trading cards in mid-2021
 Began holding trading card tournaments in late 2021
 Began partnering with Komiket for better support and opportunities to begin
hosting conventions on various special interests in early 2022

IV. Organizational Chart of Parent and Subsidiaries

As a sole proprietorship, the café has no parent or subsidiaries.
V. Organizational Structure
VI. Corporate Strategies
a. Strategic Alliance
Due to the multitude of communities it wishes to cater to, the café has
partnerships entered into and planned to help support and provide for each
one. It uses its book signing and readings to connect with local authors and
illustrators to partner for future programs and to network into the literary
community within Dumaguete. It also plans to reach out to local bookstores,
such as XIQ in Dumaguete, to secure more books and offer publishing to
writers that patronize the café. It also is in the midst of meeting pursuing
closer relations with Manila-based organization Komiket to pursue events
such as conventions. It also intends to partner with local special interest
groups to support conventions already regularly held.
The café also has standing agreements with local hobby shops to pursue
joint tournaments and events for trading card games. It also sourced many
trading card products and paraphernalia from hobby shops that have closed
its doors to its physical shops. Such hobby shops include 3J’s which closed
its doors temporarily during the Covid lockdown and only recently
reopening. In the previous case, the café and 3J’s have agreed to focus on
different formats of the game so as not to split each’s player-base.
To provide for tabletop gamers, the café has partnered with individuals
to create dice for the shop to sell and 3D printing services to create
miniatures for dungeon masters and players of Dungeons and Dragons,
likewise sold at the shop. To provide books and modules for players to be
ran through, the café has reached out to Manila and Cebu-based shops to
regularly receive these products. The café has also connected with multiple
dungeon masters to provide services for groups without one, or to introduce
new players to the game by running simple tutorial-type games for them.
These dungeon masters are offered honorariums and secured timeslots for
their own groups to play within the shop on specific days. The café intends
to secure licensing from Dungeons and Dragons creators Wizards of the
Coast to carry paraphernalia from the game as well as get updated books
when needed.
Finally, they partner with multiple establishments to provide for various
sweets, bread, snacks, and other comfort foods for patrons to partake in.
They source multiple products from Silver Reef in Dauin, as well as a
private baker for its sweets, as well as to create the chili that it supplies in
bowls or uses to augment its various food items such as burgers, hotdogs,
and fries. They have also expressed intention to partner with a Sibulan-
based food court to provide rice bowls for its patrons in the future.
b. Divestment
The café has phased out multiple products it carried before due to the
change in times and the re-envisioning of its niche. As mentioned earlier,
the space was originally intended to be a physical store for clients of the
refilling station to visit. In keeping with this earlier aesthetic, the store also
began carrying other household items such as scented candles, homemade
soaps, and essential oils.
With the change of location and addition of other products, more and
more of the café’s patronage began visiting for the special interest products.
The decision was made to refocus the products carried to reflect the change
in clientele. The scented candles, soaps, and oils were removed as they no
longer fit the new aesthetic of the café and to make room for more special
interest products such as miniatures, action figures, and comics and books.
Likewise, the stock for refilling was moved to a rear area of the café
where they were accessible but out of the way of the new clientele. The
café’s original purpose as space for the refilling station’s clients was
subsumed by its new purpose, with the decision being made to cater to the
new clientele more than the old.
c. Diversification
Maintaining some of its identity and the owners’ love of literature, the
café continues to carry many books and comics. It carries pre-owned books
for low prices, as well as new releases at market price. New releases of
comic books are also carried as well as products for manga readers.
Augmenting these products, the café carries action figures and other
paraphernalia of various fandoms. It also holds book signing and readings
for authors and illustrators and to connect with the literary community
within Dumaguete City.
Since before the transfer to a new location, the café has carried products
for trading card lovers. Its primary market are players of trading card game
Magic: The Gathering where they provide decks and cards for its various
gaming formats. Other products carried by the café include deck boxes and
card sleeves for those wishing to protect their cards from wear and tear.
Further, the café provides space for tournaments and games where they
award rare cards and other paraphernalia from the game to winners. It also
provides a space for players to trade and sell cards on top of those carried by
the café itself.
In recent times, the café has made a push to welcome players of tabletop
gaming. They carry various tabletop games for sale and invest in providing
space for tabletop gamers, primarily Dungeons and Dragons players. To
facilitate this, they provide books and modules for both purchase and use by
those running and playing the game at the café. They also sell dice of
various prices and qualities as well as miniatures for monsters and
characters for players of the game. The café provides screens and mats to
play on for those playing at the store including dry erase boards for battle
map simulations. Players also have access to a sound system to provide
music and atmosphere during the game. The café also provides for dungeon
masters for players without one or new players wishing to learn the game.
The café also provides various comfort food items for patrons coming of
each community at the café. It carries burgers, pancit canton, chili, fries,
hotdogs, and coffee for members of each community while engaging in
each of the aforementioned activities. Other special interests catered to by
the café include tarot readings, art posters, and trivia games.
VII. Discussion of Leadership
When asked about the thought process when creating the new vision for the
café, the owner has expressed a passion for creating communities within the city
for interests that have of late taken a hit due to the coming of the pandemic. When
asked about the inspiration for the re-envisioning of the café, the owner stated that
they believe in constantly evolving, that times will change and proprietors should
change with it. Having seen the writing on the wall earlier, the owner realized that
the new direction for the café would suit them better while accomplishing a passion
project of theirs simultaneously. After securing one community’s patronage, the
café immediately seized the opportunity to secure another community afterwards
and show its support and investment into it to maintain its loyalty while not
overcommitting funds before determining the likelihood of their benefits.
Afterwards, the owners have expressed the desire to continue forming new
communities, and building existing ones already centered at the café. The owners
are also known to be hands-on in both the administration and operations of the
business, jumping in whenever and wherever needed to ensure that it runs
smoothly should something slip through the cracks.
When asked if there were compunctions about the expenditure and loss of
profits due to their investment in communities already patronizing the café, the
owner answered that they believed that while making profit is indeed a
consideration that they do not forget, they preferred not to focus on the bottom-
line, preferring to put back what can be spared to expand what the café can offer.
They expressed the desire to ensure that the café be self-sustaining but also able to
support its own growth with only some augmentation here or there by the owners
with the intention of viewing the endeavor as a work of passion and a means to
serve the community within Dumaguete than simply a means to make profit.
It is these aspects of the leadership this student believes are worthy of
emulation. The passion for the work to continue seeing to its growth while also
being hands on in keeping it running smoothly and the sense of community and
focus on more than simply the café’s profits and bottom-line.
VIII. Assessment
The company has displayed growth in its short stay, though whether this is a
testament to its potential or simply a by-product of the closing of many similar
establishments and the larger market share for those left remains to be seen. While
its patronage has grown to the point of necessitating contemplation on expanding
space, one must also consider that as stated before, many communities it has
welcomed were left adrift after the lockdown with so many closings. It is worth
consideration by the owners if the café can maintain its customers’ loyalties if and
when the lockdown fully lifts and establishments begin to reopen. Still, during
these times it is able to create avenues for both buyers and sellers previously
separated to continue their commerce within its walls. Closed establishments began
consigning its products at the café to better reach its previous customers.
Further, its reaching out to the literary community in Dumaguete and its
intended partnerships to provide publishing of local writers can also shine a
spotlight on the works of locals in Dumaguete City. With its recent pushes to more
distant partners, it is able to give access to the partners’ products at more
reasonable prices to local enthusiasts within the city. And with its push for
expanding its offerings, it is possible that the number of these products will only
increase. It is however worth noting that the reason for their ability to operate in
this way is the owners’ tenure as distributor making this not their primary source of
income and is in fact a passion project rather than a business meant solely for
profit.