Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The minute the clock strikes midnight on June 1st, it begins. It usually starts small, some salubong parties here and there. Brands and companies trade in their usual logos for a more chromatic look. The pride flag gets taken out of the closet. And then it begins to pick up. Bars release their line ups and the performers are booked and blessed. It’s queer Christmas and this place finally feels safe.
But for Levi’s, Pride is a yearlong commitment. “[We have] a long and notable history of celebrating Pride and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights,” says Levi’s Country Marketing Manager Kat Costas. From marching alongside the queer community in the San Francisco AIDS walk in 1987 to their public endorsement of the Equality Act in the United States in 2015, the beloved American denim brand has proven that allyship is in the fabric of their brand DNA.
And while it’s clear that Levi’s stands in solidarity with the queer community, they also make it a point to take care of their own. “[We] became the first Fortune 500 company in 1992 to offer full medical benefits to unmarried partners of [our] employees,” says Costas. In addition, the brand has implemented an extensive non-discrimination policy that also includes protection for trans employees.
And as part of their initiative to amplify the voices of queer businesses, Levi’s is partnering with local queer-run bakery Butterboy. Here, we catch up with co-owners Hilder Demeterio and Jayson So, and externals and marketing consultant Guia Peralta to talk about the magic of drag brunch, how they maintain their safe space, and the road to becoming the Butterboy Foundation.
Since our last conversation with the boys behind our favorite buttered bread, the bakery has sold out several more Drag Brunches. They’ve even expanded on their spin-offs like their diva-themed Concertos and drag house takeovers. If this packed schedule is an indicator of anything, it’s that Butterboy has carved out a space where people can celebrate unabashed self-expression — all while enjoying some pretty damn good bread.
But before Butterboy became the weekly habit of the Mary Grace titas and aging gay millennials, it was just another date night for Demeterio and So. The two aren’t trained bakers. The kitchen was just their refuge from their daily grind as an architect and a doctor, respectively. But after a little bit of trial and error (and a dash of homosexual audacity), the two would concoct a recipe that would serve as the impetus for their Instagram store: the most flaky, golden, and buttery croissant sans the high production cost.
’13’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:1a172d9e-dd8b-46ce-8947-c44157adc9ed’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘In photo (L-R): Jayson So wearing Levi’s® Men’s Rincon Button Down Vest and Levi’s® 501, and Hilder Demeterio wearing Levi’s® Pride Muscle
Butterboy’s current menu — an extensive array of sweet and savory pastries with Filipino sensibilities — is a testament to their business’ development. “It was all about the croissant. Tapos yung cafe, parang dream lang,” Demeterio says. “Drag wouldn’t be on my mind for the first few years.”
That dream soon became a reality when the two signed the contract for the 150 square meter property at 81 Basa Street. For months, the house served as a commissary for the bakery. But now that they had a place to call their own, the team was left with a decision to make: What do they do with all of that space?
Demeterio considered letting artists showcase their works on the bakery’s walls. “Pero ang hirap kasi i-manage ng gallery, eh (laughs).” But all jokes aside, one thing was clear for the architect-cum-pastry gay. The space needed to serve a bigger purpose. “All I really wanted was a place where I can give a house for a bigger community, a place where I can give other people an opportunity to be seen.”
The two would eventually find the answer to their question through a video of the dancing diva of Texas, Kennedy Davenport, performing Donna Summer’s Last Chance in broad daylight.
‘ ’22’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:1e2611d1-4b1b-4303-b1b4-8bc424740214’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘In photo (L-R): Hilder Demeterio wearing Levi’s® Pride Muscle Tank and Levi’s® 501, and Jayson So wearing Levi’s® Men’s Rincon Button
Butterboy is easy to find. Sure, there’s the giant rainbow flag at the entrance that screams, “All are welcome here!” But there’s also the tantalizing smell of freshly baked bread that permeates the neighborhood (and leaves the residents in a perpetual state of want). And on the warm and languid weekend mornings, there’s the sound of Pop Top 40 that echoes through the street. Once you hear the oohs and aahs of a mesmerized crowd, you’ll know you’ve found the right place.
When asked about how they conceptualized their signature Drag Brunch, the Butterboy team had two answers. One, it’s that they were figuring it out as they went along. “We just went with what felt right. (Laughs). We winged it,” So says. “Parang may vision lang si Hilder na gusto [niya] ng tea set, and nag-revolve na yung idea doon,” Peralta adds. Two, on the other hand, was them giving credit to where credit was due. The team had an explicit disclaimer: “We didn’t come up with drag brunch.”
In the long and sparkly history of drag, the idea of performing over pancakes and bottomless mimosas is a recent addition. And while restaurants in America like Lips and Hamburger Mary’s paved the way for these events, the origin of drag brunch still can’t be traced back to a specific establishment. What is clear, however, is that this new platform for drag is a significant move towards queer visibility and acceptance. Demeterio calls this the new era of drag — a time where we’re finally “taking [drag] out of the shadows [and] into the spotlight that it deserves.”
What Demeterio, So, and Peralta love about their business is how they’re attracting a wider audience: from the group of titas who had absolutely no concept of drag but was drawn in by the bread to the family of a queer birthday celebrant to even the straight dudebro who was accompanying his girlfriend. This is where the beauty of drag brunch lies. It’s a safe space for the queer community to express their true authentic selves, but it also opens conversations on gender to those outside of the community. Come for the bread and performances; Stay for the lessons on gender and performativity.
’31’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:4e5ed240-93f8-46e5-a786-51c3e27365b0’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘In photo (L-R): Hilder Demeterio wearing Levi’s® Women’s Kaede Cotton Prep Coat on Levi’s® Pride Muscle Tank, and Jayson So wearing
“It’s the boring part,” Demeterio jokes when asked about the next steps for Butterboy. After a flurry of brunches, meriendas, and concertos, the team is taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture: Growth.
“To be able to grow you need to become more sustainable,” the team says in a follow up interview via email. “On top of our regular bakery operations and occasional drag brunches, we’ve spent the past year re-systematizing everything that fell into place, while growing from a microbakery to a MSME, from recipes to financial documentation.” It’s understandable that spreadsheets, meetings, and operations pale in comparison to a drag artist doing kicks and splits in six-inch stilettos, but they’re also necessary for businesses like Butterboy to thrive.
This realization can be attributed to what Peralta calls the team’ s “giving era.”
“When you grow more, you can help more. ‘Yun ‘yung na-pick up ko from the past few years with Butterboy,” Demeterio says. In a span of these two years, the bakery has made ripples in and out of the community. “Kasi since Butterboy is not only a product of our hardwork, it’s also a product of our customers’ support. So parang in every aspect, every choice [we] make, part sila nun. It’s only right that our choices are geared towards helping the community as much as we can.”
’40’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:ba9909ca-69ce-4a12-8245-9dc914624072’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Levi’s® Pride Muscle Tank and Levi’s® 501. Photo by NIKKI
Open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sundays, their quaint bungalow tucked in the heart of Quezon City is what Kat Costas of Levi’s would call a safe space, “a space where individuals within the LGBTQ+ community can be true to their gender identity and sexual orientation without fear or hesitation.” But what makes this safe space special is that it offers another option. It’s an option for younger members of the community, introverts who want coffee and bread with their books, or queer people who just want to go to bed early.
“And it’s not just for the customers,” says So. “When you expand, the business grows. More people get to be employed.” From the staff to the drag artists, the growth of Butterboy means more job opportunities. The bakery has also partnered with Scholars of Sustenance – Philippines to ensure that none of their surplus food goes to waste. “Sobrang blessing ng SOS PH to us because we’ve been having difficulties with food waste when we scaled up and having them as a partner really fills that gap and we also get to feed children and communities,” the team says.
“Magulat kayo, ‘Foundation’ na ‘yung nasa dulo ng Butterboy,” Peralta punctuates the conversation. It may be a joke but it’s also indicative of the kind of community that Butterboy is a part of. More than just a safe space, the bakery is now a part of the interconnected systems of support that the queer community functions in.
Allies like Levi’s are also a part of this system. “[We] understand that authenticity is about embracing one’s true identity and being able to live openly and honestly,” says Costas. With initiatives that signal boost creators and business owners, they are uplifting safe spaces like Butterboy and their efforts to support others. With systems like these, it’s true then that when you show up for yourself, you can show up for your community. This is how safe spaces survive and thrive.
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