Wherever one might be at Bonifacio Global City (BGC), there’s always a nearby place to have a coffee break. Among them is Frank and Dean Coffee. It has three branches located in various parts of BGC. Named after legendary entertainers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, Frank and Dean Coffee is owned and operated by indie rock singer Miguel Escueta.
It seems like an odd mix, but this isn’t the first time a rocker and Frank Sinatra has been mentioned in the same breath. Back in the 1950s, Sinatra did a duet with Elvis Presley on a TV special. In 1984, he released the music video of his final single, L.A. is My Lady. David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen are seen in the video, worshipping the man also known as the “Chairman of the Board” and “Ol Blue Eyes.”
Miguel Escueta gave up his successful career in music to establish Frank and Dean Coffee.
But that was 40 years ago, when the Chairman was still kicking, and also when Miguel Escueta was born. Miguel’s fans may have heard of My Way, but that’s probably the extent of their familiarity with Sinatra. Their parents would be hard-pressed to name a song made popular by Dean Martin, who had a long association with Sinatra. At the height of their stardom, the two crooners led a clique called the Rat Pack. Members included Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford, among others. They were the epitome of 1950s cool. They were the stars of the original version of Ocean’s 1, filmed in 1960.
Miguel admits that he isn’t exactly a walking encyclopedia of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin’s recordings, but he’s aware of their place in the Hollywood and Las Vegas pantheons. His business partner, also a musician, is the avid fan. Their coffee shop’s name was also influenced by an intriguing chapter in Sinatra’s life. “He had mafia connections,” explained Miguel. “He would meet with them in a mafia-owned bar or restaurant in Las Vegas. These meetings were usually held in a private VIP room situated in a loft.”
Frank and Dean was originally a restobar and breakfast place. It also had a loft where coffee was served. This was obviously inspired by the private rooms where Sinatra met with his friends from the underworld.
Customers would sometimes ask who Frank and Dean are. There’s a glamorous back story waiting to be told, but it’s way too much for the baristas to tell. Thus they just say, “It’s named after the owners.” It’s only natural for customers to be curious, since Frank and Dean Coffee isn’t a tribute place to the two stars. You won’t see pictures of them on the walls. Neither are their classic hits in the piped-in music’s playlist. The menu doesn’t include a That’s Amore cappuccino or a Fly Me to the Moon latte. But what it has to offer has had coffee drinkers flocking to the place during afterhours.
In fact, they closed the restobar when they learned it was the coffee that was bringing in the profits. “With our experience in the bar scene, we learned that restobars have a short lifespan. After a few years, hihina na. We also realized it was the coffee that customers came for. So we doubled down on coffee,” said Miguel.
Bottled coffee helped the coffee shop survive the pandemic lockdowns.
A new company was established, and the new Frank and Dean Coffee opened in a new location within BGC. Their coffee remained in demand during the pandemic lockdowns. Miguel introduced bottled coffee which can be delivered to customers. It’s still available in the three branches. These plastic bottles look cute and collectible. Many of the coffee products can be had in these bottles, from Cold & Drip Coffee to Dream Latte.
The branch we visited is a clean, well-lit place. It’s unpretentiously decorated, but the ambiance is quiet and relaxing. Its high ceiling gives an airy atmosphere. The place isn’t large; in fact, the two other branches are ensconced in large stalls in the busy area of the buildings. They’ve captured a market composed of hundreds of office workers toiling in the same buildings the branches occupy. They’re ideal for those who need a last-minute fix before rushing to work. It’s also convenient for the BGC version of the slaving Emilys tasked to get a latte to-go for their Miranda Priestleys pronto. Early morning joggers are regular habitués.
It’s the coffee selections that make the main branch of Frank and Dean Coffee a hangout for coffee drinkers. Peak hours often reach up to 1 am. Miguel is proud of the Banana Bread Oat Latte, which has been popular with customers. He’s finicky when it comes to shopping for beans. He sources them from Sagada and, depending on the season, he orders beans from Ethiopia and Colombia.
It was around 15 years ago when we first met and did an interview with Miguel. He was in his mid-20s and already an established songwriter and concert artist. He was a regular performer in a Sunday noontime variety show called Party Pilipinas. He already had two CD albums under his belt.
That first interview was done in the house he grew up in. It was a pleasant surprise to see a rocker who looked boyish and clean-cut—so unlike the stereotyped rock stars of the great unwashed kind. The sprawling residence had a band room where Miguel and his brother could jam. It was a wholesome home environment and light years away from what’s perceived to be a world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
For Miguel, it was strictly coffee and rock and roll. He started drinking it during college. He has his two coffee-addicted sisters to thank for that, he said. “They had moved to the US and whenever we visited them, they’d always take us to various coffee shops.”
This passion for coffee eventually rubbed off on Miguel. It came to a point where he shopped for the coffee beans and brewed them himself. Coincidentally, it was also the time he started writing music. He’d compose songs in the early mornings over coffee.
“I studied guitar in high school and started writing songs in college,” he said. “I was already into rock music. I was into Coldplay, a bit of Nirvana, and Lighthouse. I joined an acoustic competition and won second place. After college I started applying for jobs in the corporate world, but it didn’t pan out. So I decided to focus on music.”
He soon signed with the ALV Talent Center. The career flourished, but he remained grounded. He eschewed the perks and temptations that come with a career in entertainment. He preferred having date nights with longtime girlfriend Laia. He did at one point take a big gulp of beer prior to a performance at the Araneta Coliseum. He was fronting Kelly Clarkson’s concert and he was overcome with stage fright. Concerns over the sound system and a deep fear of audience rejection put him in panic mode.
“The audience had come to see Kelly Clarkson. They didn’t come to see me,” he recalled while laughing. “My friend and collaborator Champ Lui-Pio handed me a bottle of Red Horse to calm me down.”
He need not have worried. Kelly Clarkson’s fans enjoyed his performance. The concert further pushed his momentum. Yet in 2014, he walked away from it all. He married Laia, who later gave birth to their daughter Callie. “I wanted to devote my time to them. If I had continued with my music, I’d be very busy doing concert tours. I’d be an absent husband and father. I didn’t want that for my family,” he said.
It was easy for him to give up the music. He enjoyed the limelight and was gratified to share his music. Yet he was never really the showbiz type. He wasn’t interested in acting or hosting TV shows. There was no celebrity girlfriend, and he was never the subject of gossip. He married Laia, the love of his life, his high school sweetheart.
Being a coffee aficionado, it was logical for Miguel to get into the coffee business. With Frank and Dean Coffee, his daily routine is less hectic and hardly stressful. Last year, however, he found himself “heeding the call of his muse.” He just had to write music again because it was therapy for him. One of the new songs he composed is Summer Dream. It has since been recorded and is available on Spotify. It even has a music video shot in La Union. He began working with Champ Lui-Pio again, and they wrote Pangako sa Bukas. Miguel said the song is their heartfelt tribute to mental health advocacy, as it presents a message of hope.
Miguel performed his latest single, ‘Bakit Ba Ganyan,’ at the recent Miss World PH beauty pageant.
ALV Talent Circuit soon came knocking on his door again, and he was encouraged to cover some of the Tagalog classics. He did just that when he recorded a rock version of Bakit Ba Ganyan, the radio hit of actress Dina Bonnevie. Miguel’s new musical arrangement for the song brings it to a new level. As what Ms. Bonnevie had done, his rendition captured the poignancy of the lyrics despite the rock beat.
Now a youthful-looking Tito of Manila, Miguel clarifies that he just wants as many people as possible to listen and hear the music. “I’m just hoping it will move them in whatever way. I’m not keen on doing the heavy gig and touring circuit again. My family remains my number one priority,” he said.
Such an arrangement allows Miguel to have his cake and it eat it too, preferably cake with coffee from Frank and Dean Coffee.
The main store of Frank and Dean Coffee is located at the ground floor of Five/Neo Building along 31st St., BGC. Branches are located at the W Global Center, 9th Avenue corner 30th Avenue, and at Unilever Philippines 7th floor, Bonifacio Stopover, 2nd Avenue.
