MANILA, Philippines – Makati Cinema Square, on the fringes of the city’s central business district, feels like more of a character than a commercial establishment, with a reputation that precedes it, and a story that begs to be told.

Since the mall was revitalized in 2018, it’s been given a new name – Makati Central Square – but its history and old name are hard to shake, and most people still know it by its original name, or simply, MCS.

Entering MCS is always an experience, no matter which door you choose. From one side of the mall, you’ll pass by a relatively big Book Sale branch before hitting several rows of stalls selling off-brand cellphone accessories. 

From another side, you’ll see the tiny entrance to Fatcat, a coffee and cocktails bar, sandwiched in between a Japanese restaurant and yet another cellphone accessories shop. 

On the newer side of the mall, you’ll find an array of restaurants: a busy izakaya called Manmaru, a vegan noodle spot called Wabisabi, and a Korean barbecue restaurant that as of this writing is in the process of being renamed. 

From the basement parking, there’s a literal underground club, NoKal, arguably the coolest kid on the MCS block.

The further into the mall you go, the more oddities there are to find. Stumbling upon them feels like discovering well-kept secrets. 

There’s an SSS branch next to an antiques store. A crystals shop amid several ukay-ukays. An airsoft gun range and a bingo center. Two time-tested restaurants, Aida’s, which serves original chicken inasal, and a Chinese restaurant, Emer’s. A newly-opened arcade-cum-cafe. Several art galleries surrounding the base of a spiral staircase leading up to AMF-Puyat, one of the last remaining bowling alleys in Makati.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the way the shops are arranged or even chosen. It’s as if they had sprouted there spontaneously, the result of some sort of capitalist Big Bang.

Cinema beginnings

MCS has stood in the same spot since the 1980s. It was built by the Rufino family, whose empire was built on cinema operations and movie distributorship. The mall’s main attraction was its theaters – hence the name. 

To get the mall built, the family had to make it a condominium corporation, where different tenants owned the units in the mall instead of just renting from the developer.  

“This was the 1980s, times were hard, there was not much money in the market. You had to raise money quickly to build a building. So to do that, the family didn’t have the money to build a whole building and own it. They needed to condominium corp. So they sold the titles to other people, and they used that money to complete the building,” Carlo Rufino, a member of Makati Cinema Square’s board of directors, told Rappler.

With theaters and a department store – a branch of the popular Plaza Fair shopping center – MCS became a Makati institution – though this period would be short-lived.

In the ’80s and ’90s, the Rufino family transitioned out of the movie business and into real estate due to rising amusement taxes. In 1990, MCS’ theaters closed down. 

“When the theaters were weak and the department store was no longer very popular, the anchors died and the mall started decaying,” Carlo said. At this point, the unit owners turned to questionable businesses, leading to an increasingly sketchy assortment of vendors.

In an interesting twist, MCS went from housing one of Makati’s main cinemas, to becoming known as a hub for bootleg DVDs. Police raids on the property became a regular occurence. 

“Because they [the tenants] owned the unit and they could lease to who they wish, we had no control in their leasing. So because of that, we couldn’t control what they were doing directly. So they would lease out to these sellers and they were doing these things, which was unfortunate. It was a dark time for the mall, and it was not sustainable. We were always getting notices and it was always an issue of concern for the family,” Carlo shared.

“It was profitable for them, I guess, the ones running it. But it was bad for the mall, because we couldn’t bring in big tenants. We lost a lot of the prestigious tenants…. It was a downward spiral for the mall,” he said.

“Among our portfolio, Makati Cinema Square was always kind of the problem child. Which is okay, you know, it happens. Everyone has a kid in the family that’s a little weird. But therein lies its uniqueness,” he added.

In 2008, the flagging mall hit a crisis point when its airconditioning system broke down, leaving the mall without aircon for months. With its facade fading and its reputation tarnished by constant raids, that last crisis might have been the final nail in the coffin for MCS – but the fact that the units within the mall were independently owned by different people made it difficult to tear it down. Instead, the owners had to figure out a way to fix the problem. 

“So they all had to put money up, you know, like a condo, and call an assessment, and spend for the aircon,” Carlo said.

Somehow, they were able to find the money to repair the airconditioning system, and that became the start of the mall’s slow recovery.

Second wind

In 2018, the Rufino family put more money into MCS’ condo corp for the revival of the mall. The ceilings got a fresh coat of paint. The flooring was updated. More airconditioners were installed. 

As MCS freshened up, exciting new businesses came in. Manmaru, a concept from Osaka, opened shop on the side of the mall along Fernando Street, right across Makati’s Little Tokyo. These days, Manmaru is always full, and it’s not unusual to see a long queue outside its door as diners wait to be seated. 

A Korean barbecue place – which only recently met some controversy for having the same name as a popular K-bbq chain – also opened up, drawing in the big groups that frequent samgyupsal places.

Aside from bootleg DVDs – which had practically disappeared at that point – the mall had also become known for housing both stores that you can find everywhere, like cellphone stalls and ukays, and stores that you can’t find elsewhere: vinyl shops, vintage watch stores, gun shops. 

With the newly-installed crowd-pulling restaurants, unique vendors, its ramshackle charm, and of course, its prime location near offices and transportation stops, MCS looked like it had finally found its niche. Drawing in some 40,000 to 50,000 people a day, the mall-in-crisis seemed to be on the up-and-up.

“It was moving, we were getting there,” Carlo said. “And then of course pandemic hits. So it’s heartbreaking. At that point I remember when the pandemic came and we were closed and we were giving discounts and I was like, parang malas this mall (this mall seems unlucky). Like maybe it could never happen, whatever you try to do to fix it, it’ll never happen, it’ll be impossible to fix.”

At the time that the lockdowns started, Carlo already had a vision for the mall’s future. He wanted to bring Makati’s nightlife district, Poblacion, to the mall somehow. He was already working with entrepreneurs who were ready to try out a new nightlife concept in the mall’s basement.

“They were supposed to develop it. Pandemic hits; unfortunately, they were not able to finish the project,” he said. 

“They were the first to take the risk, to take the jump into Makati Cinema Square. It’s just an old mall, right? The mindset of people for MCS is…it’s old, it’s decrepit or whatever, it had its heyday, it’s past its prime. People counted it out, it’s like the problem kid that they never could get themselves together. It’s always been like that. It’s always been kind of like a niche, underdog mall. But they took the chance, and because they took the chance and then the pandemic hit, I felt so bad that they were not able to finish their concept,” Carlo said.

When the pandemic hit, the mall’s foot traffic dipped to two or three thousand a day. 

“The office crowd died, so we lost all the traffic from there. All the malls went through this. It was bad times,” Carlo said. 

Some establishments closed down, while those that remained open plodded on, unable to really pivot to e-commerce as many big brands did during the lockdowns.

“We lost two restaurants; the rest were just scrambling for dear life,” Carlo said. 

“The mall tenants were really in a lot of pain. We’re a tiangge (market) kind of thing, so they’re surviving on pure walk-in traffic.… So we were completely wiped out, we didn’t know how to do online sales. So none of these tenants were selling anything. It was just survival mode for quite a while. Everyone gave rental breaks and we just hunkered down and waited until things could open up,” he added.

When the lockdowns started to ease up, Carlo revisited his idea of bringing Poblacion to MCS.

The next Poblacion?

The Makati nightlife district hit its heyday in the mid- to late- 2010s. Located between an old church and a red light district, Poblacion became beloved for offering an unpretentious, easy alternative to nightlife, where the beers are cheap, the dress codes are relaxed, and the bars play the kind of music you wouldn’t hear at a fancy superclub.

As Poblacion boomed, a few problems came to the surface: a dearth of parking spaces and noise complaints from residents who still lived in the area. For Carlo, who says he is a fan of Poblacion, MCS could solve the nightlife district’s inherent problems.

“We have parking, we are zoned for commercial, we’re indoors so we’re not affected by weather. Traffic is not so bad…. We have a lot of ways out of the mall, it’s a lot more transit options. And we have jeepney stops and all,” he said.

“Poblacion will be Poblacion. I think they’re a great market and they will always be the successor of Malate. We want to be a version of Poblacion where it’s a little more convenient, a little more safe, a little bit more easy to access. In case it’s raining and you want to go somewhere else, this is it,” he addded.

Carlo shared his idea of his to his son, who happened to have a friend who was connected to one of the co-owners of NoKal, a popular Poblacion bar that closed down in the pandemic. 

The bar used to be located at a prime spot along Poblacion’s Kalayaan street – a three-storey building that saw so many different concepts come and go, it almost felt like it was cursed. When NoKal took over the space though, it actually worked, and for almost two years, it became a go-to for the part crowd looking for alternative club music.

“Before the pandemic, NoKal, I feel like, was at its prime and it was at its peak. We were going on two years, and when the pandemic hit, to be honest, we didn’t know what to do,” NoKal co-founder and managing director Marco Viray told Rappler. 

“We were still required to pay full rent, and I thought during that time, the businesses were really at the mercy of the landlords…. [Our landlord] was requiring us to pay in full rent, and we just decided to let go because the rent was pretty high,” he said.

In December 2021, Marco ended up meeting Carlo, whose son was friends with Marco’s nephew. 

“He was like, my dad’s friend wanted to meet you, he owns Makati Cinema Square. And he was like, he has this idea of bringing Poblacion to Makati Cinema Square. I’m like, that’s not gonna happen, I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Marco laughed. Despite his apprehension, he decided to meet with Carlo anyway.

“I used to go to Makati Cinema Square when I was young. We’d go to the bowling alley, there was a Magoo’s Pizza there. Going through the mall, [Carlo] even showed me the old theaters, the sinehan. Sabi ko (I said) I don’t think I’m gonna do anything here,” Marco shared. “For one, our businesses are really in Poblacion, so we have other outlets in Poblacion and we’ve been comfortable…and I don’t see this mall turning into Poblacion.”

Even Carlo didn’t think anything would come of their meeting. 

“They look at all the units that are vacant, the ground floor units, and I thought, you know maybe they’ll get something…. But they’re not interested. they’re like, nothing new, nothing unique. So I’m like, ah, pitch has failed. Let’s go home,” Carlo shared.

He then went with Marco to their parking space in basement one. 

“So as I was walking down towards my parking area, I saw this…it was like a door that looked like a storage room and I was like, what is this? And Carlos is like, oh it’s just a storage unit. We put some files in there,” Marco shared.

“It reminded me so much of this club in New York that me and my friends used to go to a lot when I was living there. It’s called The Electric Room. Same feel, it was under a hotel, you go down the basement. It was unassuming, you wouldn’t have any idea there was a nice club that’s intimate and private there. And it really reminded me of that,” he said.

“I was like, you know what Carlos, let me explore this. I have this feeling, you know. And sometimes, certain things happen for a reason and it happens in the right time, the right moment. And I feel like this just gave me this feeling that there’s something in here that I might be interested in. And we explored,” Marco shared.

He said that they were sad to take NoKal out of Poblacion, but admitted that the neighborhood’s parking and noise complaint issues were inconveniences.

“It’s unfortunate that we left Poblacion, but we’re bringing Poblacion with us because that’s where we started. And I felt like there was a market that we can tap into, especially the ones who used to go to Poblacion and now are not going…because the market is also changing. There are a lot more younger people now. So we were like, let’s do it. Let’s reopen. We have the blessing of the landlord and the mall owner that he’s gonna help us the best way he can,” Marco said.

Right there in the parking lot, he told Carlo that he was in. 

“They took the leap, they built and constructed, they opened in October (2022) and they’ve been a phenomenal hit. They’ve been kind of our main catalysts to get everything started,” Carlo said.

Despite Marco’s initial apprehension to make MCS NoKal’s home base, he did find a kinship between his bar and the mall where it is located.

“I felt like, we [NoKal] were always a complete anti-establishment. You know, we weren’t BGC during that time that we opened. We went against it. We didn’t play Top 40 music. We didn’t play EDM. We wanted to be more independent, we wanted to be more underground. We never had VIPs, we don’t do guest lists. We were never like that. We wanted to go against the grain. We were the anti-establishment of the clubs and the bars,” Marco said.

“I feel like that’s how Poblacion is and that’s why people started accepting it. When you think about it, Makati Cinema Square is also the anti-mall. It’s not your typical mall. It’s not your Rockwell or your SM where it’s all polished and curated. It’s quite old, and the type of stores that you do see there, it’s different from what you usually see in a regular mall. So I think that kind of fit hand in hand,” he added.

Since NoKal reopened, the neon-lit bar has cultivated a new community of “lokals of NoKal” with its regular stable of DJs and live music.

New era

The success of NoKal is a promising start for Carlo’s vision of the next phase of MCS. The goal is to establish more bars and clubs to create a sort of nightlife cluster where people can hop from one party to another without having to go very far. 

The way Carlo describes it, the mall is entering its era of experimentation.

“Makati Square was born, like me, in the ’80s or late ’70s. So she’s in midlife. I call her a she. So she’s in midlife. Right now, she’s about 40 years old. And she’s gone through a lot of tough times, but that builds her character, builds her uniqueness as a mall,” he said.

“It has the history…. Everyone has an MCS story of their childhood. It has that vintage nostalgia, which we want to preserve. We want to keep the vinyl record shops, the gun ranges, we want to keep all of the things that made MCS MCS but add on a layer where that’s her past but she’s moving to the future,” he said.

That future is all about creating experiences – from daytime activities like bowling, billiards, and thrifting, and later in the day, dining and partying.

“Her future now, as a midlife person, she’s trying out new things, she’s going out, so that’s where the clubs and the bars come in,” Carlo said. “Her forward-facing is taking that history but bringing the new crowd in.” – Rappler.com