Local snack bar Galaxy II opens in Garapan

The taste of nostalgia is now closer to residents of central and northern Saipan with the opening of Galaxy II Snack Bar in Garapan last March 4.

Brothers Patrick Jr., 29, and Anthony Tenorio, 32, are heading Galaxy II’s second location and they assured that their newest branch offers the same delectable classics found in the Chalan Kanoa branch like their iconic sardine empanadas, glazed donuts, and chicken kelaguen.

“We opened the Garapan location to cater to the middle and northern part of the island. Basically, we sell what Galaxy Snack Bar near William S. Reyes Elementary School sells. We also plan to offer burgers and hotdogs for lunch,” said the brothers who also are the cooks and bakers.

Curiously, Galaxy Snack Bar’s main clientele continues to be the island’s seniors or man’amko as they frequent their CK and now Garapan locations quite often. If not themselves, Anthony said, they will ask their younger relatives to buy their favorite snacks for them.

By opening at the back of T Galleria by DFS Saipan and a few minutes’ walk from hotel street and the former Paseo De Marianas, the Tenorios also hope to tap into tourist customers.

“A big goal of ours is also to cater to tourist that’s why we opened Galaxy II just at the back of T Galleria by DFS,” said Anthony, who used to work at a bagel shop in the U.S. mainland.

Like its older brother, Galaxy II also makes everything fresh and they never sell anything from the day before as they assure all their food is sold out everyday.

Anthony said Patrick, who used to work at Panda Express, goes to Galaxy II as early as 2am to prepare their daily food items from scratch everyday. That means Patrick is asleep as early as 7pm and wakes up not-so bright but definitely early at 1am.

And the labor of love is rewarded everyday as the Tenorio brothers said they sell out more than 100 sardine empanadas, over 100 glazed donuts, and a little less burgers and chicken kelaguen everyday.

So far, business is doing well and Galaxy II even closes earlier than their 12pm published closing time as they are usually sold out by then. Anthony and Patrick also shared that they’ve been blown away by the community’s reception so far and that’s why they’re even striving harder to improve the new location.

“The community is thankful that there’s finally a Galaxy Snack Bar that is closer to them. Some customers all the way from Kagman and Capitol Hill actually drive down to WSR just to go to Galaxy. Opening up a location in Garapan also helps people avoid the traffic especially along Beach Road that is under construction,” they said.

Galaxy Snack Bar was founded by the Tenorio brothers’ aunt, Dolores Blas Dela Cruz, in the 1970s. Its first location was in Garapan before it moved to the hill just before the Northern Marianas College campus in As Terlaje. That location closed in 2014 before it reopened in Chalan Kanoa three months later.

“We do have childhood memories of the old Galaxy Snack Bar in As Terlaje before going to school. After my aunt passed, we took over and decided to move to CK,” the brothers said.

Galaxy Snack Bar also used to have a Tanapag location right across Tanapag Middle School, but it closed when the building they were renting was sold in 2016.

Aside from having two locations, Galaxy Snack Bar also delivers to nine stores in an effort to reach more customers and be more accessible all throughout the island.

As for the clamor to import their goodies to off-island, Anthony and Patrick said that the idea should be thought of more thoroughly.

“Exporting our items will make us have to change the ingredients because our food is fresh, never frozen. We may have to alter our recipe if we want to freeze and ship it off-island.”

The Tenorios are also looking for local vendors to partner with them by selling more local products via consignment basis at Galaxy II Snack Bar.

“If they have any local products they want to sell, we can set up a table inside our location and partner with them and help give tourists a taste of more local food,” said Anthony, who along with Patrick co-owns Galaxy Snack Bar together with their other siblings Monique, Cadez, and Peter Mike.

Galaxy II Snack Bar is open Monday-Friday, from 6:30am to 12pm. Their operation is take-out only and for the meantime accepts only cash. For more information or to order in advance, call (670) 233-5542.