By Cecilia Leyva, Oct. 19, 2021
Cal Poly Pomona has welcomed a Filipinx dining option on campus right on time to celebrate Filipinx American History month. Vianna Camacho’s business, Bumble Vi Pastry, makes university history as the first Filipinx dining option on campus.
Bumble Vi Pastry is located in what was previously a Taco Bell location in the Campus Center Marketplace after opening its doors Oct. 18.
Camacho, alongside her husband Levin Camacho, began their catering business around a year ago at the height of the pandemic. “Receiving a letter in the mail from your job with the world ‘furlough’ is scary. ‘What am I supposed to do now?'” Camacho said she asked herself. From there, Camacho had plans to start Bumble Vi Pastry and brings its flavors to an audience.
Camacho’s initial plan for her start-up was to set up pop-up style booths at local campus farmer’s markets. That plan soon changed after a phone call from Dining Services Assistant Director David Corral.
She recalls initially believing the phone call from Corral was a “scam.” He was the one who reached out to Camacho and her husband last month. After giving the husband-and-wife duo a tour of the campus and the available space, he “dropped the news.” Though thrilled about her recent successes, she said the invitation to the college campus came as quite a surprise.
“So many plans changed because of COVID, but all of the stars really aligned to make this happen,” said Corral. “They’re a great couple. They are great people to support, and I have enjoyed this relationship. I am excited for them.”
Numerous students had voiced their discontent over the dining options and hours of operation following the campus’ reopening. Corral stated, “We don’t like serving the population this way, so I reached out to the couple to see if it was a possibility to assist us and offer a different type of menu. Something that we haven’t had before.”
Camacho credits her “inner Filipina spirit” for the courage in beginning a new business venture. Growing up in the Philippines introduced Camacho to fundamental techniques and recipes she has since been building upon to create a menu on her own. Her traditional cooking skills, along with her innovative culinary training, is what she expressed will be the basis for training new employees. “We want to train our staff the right way,” said Camacho.
The addition of Bumble Vi Pastry offers more than just an extra dining option suggests one of CPP Barkada’s executive board members. Barkada is a Filipinx American Organization on campus dedicated to the promotion of Filipinx culture. For Jayson Pacio, the athletics chair for Barkada, this opening signifies cultural validation. He explained, “The fact that Bumble Vi is coming to campus is important because it means that not only I will be in touch with my own culture, but it will help others to also learn more.”
Camacho, a proud Filipina American, shares in Pacio’s excitement. She noted, “We all bond through food. Hopefully this will help build a strong sense of community on campus.”
Camacho and her staff look forward to serving their customers in-person, brick-and-mortar style, at Bumble Vi Pastry’s first store front location. The restaurant aims to provide as much authenticity as possible. Camacho assures the quality of her fresh Filipino dishes will be “very affordable and student-friendly.”
Future menu items will include traditional dishes such as: lumpia, a pork belly bowl and pancit. The most popular menu item is Camacho’s lumpias. “Many people think lumpia is just an egg roll but egg rolls are not Filipino. It looks like it but its meatier,” she described.
Don’t just pancit around. Camacho and her staff invite everyone and says they goto check it out. Follow Bumble Vi Pastry’s Instagram page for more information.
Featured image courtesy of Bumble Vi Pastry.