December 28, 2025 | 10:30am
MANILA, Philippines — When Monica Ortonio migrated to the United States to be with her husband and two children in 2013, she never imagined she would one day be running a successful mom-and-pop business selling Vigan-style longganisa and longganisa-filled lumpia.
For the first five years she worked as an adult education specialist in Los Angeles before she and hubby Ruderick began experimenting on longganisa recipes. She hails from Laoag City, Ilocos Norte while he is from Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Both of them had been craving for that specific flavor profile for these native pork link sausages they just couldn’t find in the US.
“We started making longganisa back in 2018 when we were still working full time jobs,” Ortonio recounted. “It was lots of trial and error and we ended up with several pounds of leftovers from our failed attempts which we turned into our other bestseller, the Lumpianisa or ‘Lumpia’ longganisa.”
She credits the creation of Lumpianisa to the saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” They were determined to come up with as close an approximation of the Vigan longganisa Ruderick grew up eating. When the couple arrived at a recipe they could stake their claim on, they began offering it to a small circle of friends and relatives.
Longganisa every day
“We experimented for more than a year before we were satisfied with the product. That meant that there was a time when we had longganisa for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Ortonio recalled with amusement.
Through word of mouth and the positive feedback from repeat customers, the couple was able to grow their small business. They would join caravans and community fairs within the state to get the word out, and would set meetups with customers in parking lots during weekends.
“At first it was something we did on the side, after our respective day jobs, but then it became too tiring and stressful. My husband was the first to quit his job to focus on our business full time. I followed suit a few months later. We discovered the we could do double of what we were making before which was great because our orders kept growing and growing. Although we were working seven days a week, it wasn’t as stressful as before because we had the whole day to work, and we could rest whenever we wanted,” she said.
The couple went through the proper channels, registering the mom-and-pop business Pinoy Sa-Wrap: House of Vigan Longganisa as an LLC (Limited Liability Company), applying for their trademarks, and completing their Food Safety Certifications and state and local licenses.
A few months ago, they opened a small kitchen focusing on an Ilokano-inspired menu. They were finally able to move their longganisa operations out of their home and into a commercial kitchen.
“With the help of our angel investors and our families, we pooled enough capital to fund this project. We found the perfect small kitchen in Carson at a budget we could afford and went for it.”
Monico and Ruderick Ortonio
Blessing in disguise
They share the postage-stamp space with another Filipino with a money transfer business. It can fit a small table and a few chairs that are seldom empty as regular customers treat it as an extension of their home.
“This move proved to be a blessing in disguise because we benefited from the money transfer outfit’s high traffic of customers everyday, majority of them Filipinos as there is a large Filipino community in Carson. His customers get curious, ask about what we do and more often than not, they end up buying something,” Ortonio said.
Their initial concept was a take-out restaurant where customers could buy Vigan longganisa and Lumpianisa frozen but they could also purchase cooked to order “Silog” meals and a rotating menu of Ilokano dishes like Dinengdeng, Pinakbet, Dinardaraan, and Igado, among a few others.
“We’ve had from two to up to eight people sharing the table. We bring out foldable stools so everyone can sit. I think people don’t mind as stories are usually free flowing and customers chat easily among themselves. The space is a tight squeeze but we make it work.”
Taking advantage of the commercial kitchen, they now also offer party trays of Ilokano favorites like Tinuno/Insarabasab, Dinakdakan with “Utek,” Dinardaraan and Igado and hopefully next year, Sinanglao and Bagnet.
They also recently introduced the Lumpianada, their take on the Ilocos Empanada but using lumpia wrapper for the shell. “It’s crispy on a different level and the authentic-tasting longganisa pushes it to another tasty dimension,” Ortonio said.
Luck and picky buyers
She credits their continued success to sheer luck as well as the fact that Filipinos abroad can be very particular when it comes to food.
“We put a premium on the quality of our products and we make sure that the consistency is there. We are also probably just lucky to have developed a longganisa recipe that’s more authentic-tasting than those sold at the grocery stores. You know, Pinoys here are very picky when it comes to Pinoy food. Any food item you sell should be better than what they can get at home because they’re not only buying convenience, they’re buying the experience of home as well. I think people come back for the food, the familiarity and the attention we give to their experience,” she said.
The couple has been doing fairly well for the past several years but Ortonio is not one to rest on her laurels. They are in it for the long haul.
“We still have a long way to go to become seasoned business owners. We want to be good at what we do, learn from our mistakes and create systems that make our work easier that’s why we want to take our time to grow,” she said.
Pinoy Sa-Wrap: House of Vigan Longganisa is at 860 E Carson St, Ste 116, Carson CA 90745. Call 424-378-2169 or 310-684-1702.
Monico and Ruderick Ortonio
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