■ LARSIAN VENDORS MOVE NEXT DOOR WHILE FOOD PARK UNDERGOES RENOVATION

Starting yesterday, Larsian, the go-to place for barbecue in Cebu City, moved to a new home, albeit temporarily, while the food park near Fuente Osmeña undergoes a two-month rehabilitation. But regulars don’t have far to go. Vendors set up show on an adjacent lot that the Province also owns on B. Rodriguez, part of which Larsian customers use as parking spaces. Aside from owners and staff of stalls undergoing a food handling and customer service seminar, Larsian’s drainage system will also be fixed. Once the renovation is done, customers can expect Larsian “to be cleaner, free of flies and rats, and with a steady supply of water.”

Larsian regulars will need to take a few more steps to get their regular barbecue fix.

The Provincial Government began on Monday a rehabilitation of the food park near Fuente Osmeña, which is expected to take two months.

Owners and staff of the stalls will also be asked to go through a food handling and customer service seminar by the Cebu City Health Department and other resource persons of the City Government.

Vendors were asked to stay temporarily on an adjacent lot that the Province also owns on B. Rodriguez, part of which customers of Larsian use as parking spaces.

Joey Herrera, Larsian’s administrator, said the drainage system will also be fixed. GTM Builders will handle the rehabilitation for P1.8 million, which includes the parking lot that the company has worked on these past two weeks.

Once the renovation is done, Herrera said, customers can expect Larsian to be cleaner, free of flies and rats, and with a steady supply of water.

The roof will be raised further to allow smoke from the grills to waft out, instead of enveloping the diners. Twenty-six stalls currently share Larsian’s space. They will be allowed to return to the renovated area sometime in September.

New vendors who want space in the renovated Larsian should sell other types of food, like the fish stew nilarang, to give customers more choices, he said. Stall rentals will not be increased despite the renovation and will range from P7,000 to P14,000 a month, Herrera added.