A post shared by BIGG'S DINER (@biggsdinerph) on Feb 20, 2017 at 10:34pm PST

NAGA CITY – The leading restaurant chain in the Bicol region is eyeing expansion.

Bigg’s Diner, known for serving burgers and Filipino rice meals in Naga and its neighboring areas since 1983, plans to open in Metro Manila next year.

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In a recent interview with ABS-CBN News and selected members of the media, business development head Ronaldo Linao said they are already looking at three possible locations for the restaurant.

“One is in Mindanao Avenue [in Quezon City]… if ever things push through, this will be the first franchise in Manila,” he said. “One is Megamall, and also Robinsons, either Ermita or Galleria. Why Ermita? Iyong crowd ng Ermita… mostly from Bicol ‘yung students. We want to tap that market.”

“There is actually a market study right now to see how viable it would be in Manila. The competition there is very fierce,” he added.

A post shared by BIGG'S DINER (@biggsdinerph) on Jun 27, 2016 at 6:47pm PDT

Bigg’s Diner currently has 17 restaurants in the Bicol region, including 7 franchises and a branch in Batangas.

It started out as a donut shop owned by the “three Marias” – Nena Bichara, Nienie Buenaflor, and Maricar Manjon.

According to Linao, the fast casual restaurant had to undergo a name change twice – from Mang Donald’s to Carl’s Diner, then to Bigg’s Diner – to avoid confusion with multinational brands.

“This time, they decided to use something that is not familiar. Why Bigg’s? Because as you could see, it’s all about big servings,” he said.