Pouring Culture. Building Community.
From a series of successful pop-ups to a permanent home in Manhattan's East Village, June Baby is more than just a cocktail bar — it's a vibrant celebration of Filipino-American identity, community, and heritage.
Founded by hospitality veterans Roxanne Diaz Bangalan, Darwin Pornel, and Ben Rojo, June Baby is set to become New York City's first Filipino-American cocktail bar. Drawing on their experiences navigating dual cultures and working in the nation's most respected hospitality programs, the team has built a concept that is both deeply personal and distinctly Filipino-American.
Inspired by Philippine Independence Day (June 12), June Baby blends Filipino flavors, California influences, and New York hospitality into a welcoming neighborhood space. As opening day approaches, Roxanne and Darwin reflect on their journeys, the community that shaped their vision, and what it means to create a place where people feel seen and represented.
We sat down with the couple to talk about identity, hospitality, entrepreneurship, and the story behind bringing June Baby to life.
June Baby Co-Founders: Ben Rojo, Roxanne Diaz Bangalan, and Darwin Pornel
1. Tell us about yourselves and your backgrounds. How did your individual journeys ultimately lead you to hospitality and the creation of June Baby?
Darwin Pornel: I was born in New York and raised in New Jersey. Growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood, I didn't fully grasp my Filipino identity until I was older, often assimilating to fit in. Everything changed when my family moved to San Diego. Suddenly, I was surrounded by thousands of Filipino Americans. It was a formative culture shock that helped me embrace being "third culture."
When I was 16, I worked at a Sicilian restaurant in Chula Vista because I missed New Jersey! This is where my love for food really blew up. I also really loved singing as a kid and I really thought that I was going to pursue a career in music. I applied to San Diego State as a vocal performance major, but I eventually switched to pre-nursing, and then to public health.
After college, I moved to Los Angeles (LA), and I was set on trying to figure out how to get into medical school, even if it meant getting the credits for prerequisite courses at a community college. This was supposed to be crunch time for me, but I found myself spending so much time learning about the restaurant industry in LA and got sucked in. I spent more time learning about bar and cocktail history than I did studying for classes, and it really came natural to me. On my 25th birthday, I had a mental breakdown — a quarter life crisis! I didn’t know what career I was going to choose, so I told myself I would really dedicate my time and effort into a career in hospitality. I went on to be named one of Zagat's "30 Under 30" in LA and competed in national cocktail competitions. Without a formal mentor, I had to carve out my own path through the industry.
Roxanne and I eventually joined the opening team at The NoMad Hotel, Los Angeles, and then when we moved to New York City, I transferred to the original location. Post-COVID, I served as Director of Operations for Paradise Projects, which allowed me to travel globally and visit different bar scenes. All the while, we were running our pop-ups, and the community kept asking when we would finally open a brick-and-mortar space.
Darwin Pornel
Roxanne Bangalan: I immigrated in 1994 when my dad joined the Navy. Unlike Darwin, I grew up in heavily Filipino communities in San Diego and Virginia, so I was always surrounded by the culture. I attended UCLA, working throughout college to support myself. Darwin eventually encouraged me to take a job in hospitality, and it completely changed my perspective on life.
At the time, both Darwin and I were both pre-med students. Delusional! We both quickly realized that we weren’t passionate about the science behind medicine. I found that I really cared more about people’s equitable access to quality healthcare. I applied to grad school. In 2020, I obtained my Master’s degree in public health at Columbia University. As you know, that was COVID, so it was a terrible terrible job market. I thought that I could work in hospitality in the meantime, but that also shut down during the pandemic! These were the only two things I knew how to do, and I had no options! That was really crazy!
I applied to so many jobs and nothing was working out. Darwin was the only one working, so I told him we should consider moving back home to regroup. Darwin was confident that we could make it work and we signed a new apartment lease in Brooklyn. That was the first time I felt like I did something so reckless. I’d never signed a lease without a job before. But, if we hadn't stayed, we wouldn’t be opening June Baby!
Roxanne Bangalan
2. You spent years building a following through pop-ups. What did those events teach you about your community?
Darwin Pornel: We began our pop-ups in late 2021 with our partner, Ben Rojo. Ben was like a big brother to us, always making an effort to include us in community activations. Our events grew rapidly, eventually outgrowing the spaces we occupied. Roxanne had the idea to expand beyond food and drinks to include Filipino-American jewelers, apparel vendors, artists, photographers, and tattoo artists. People started mistaking our pop-up locations for permanent Filipino bars, which gave us the confidence to find our own home.
3. What inspired the name "June Baby"?
Roxanne Bangalan: The name was originally inspired by our son's due date, which was in June. Even though he arrived early in May, the name stuck. June is culturally significant because of Philippine Independence Day. When we “gained” independence from the U.S., they set our Independence Day to June 12. We love the history of reclamation around this piece of our history and believe it’s important to control our own narrative as Filipino-Americans.
4 .Why was the East Village the right fit for your first location?
Darwin Pornel: The East Village was sort of a beacon of Filipino-American businesses for some time and while some of them have survived (like Johnny Air Mart!), a lot of them have come and gone. The East Village felt like the perfect place to open June Baby, especially since we have some pretty personal ties to the neighborhood. I was born at Beth Israel on 1st and 15th, and my parents and I lived in the apartment building across from the hospital. My mom was also one of the nurses that came over in the 80’s during the HIV/AIDS epidemic – that period saw a huge influx of Filipinos that eventually made their way to Queens as the years went on. With all of that history and the many years that Ben, Roxanne, and I have spent eating, drinking, and working in the neighborhood, it only felt natural.
Roxanne Bangalan: We have a lot of personal, historical ties to the neighborhood. In 2019, our business partner, Ben used to own and operate a bar called Black Emperor. Unfortunately, it closed because of COVID. Also, it’s really rare to find buildings that are AAPI owned. Our landlord and his family used to own and operate a Chinese restaurant called Jade Mountain out of this space for decades. Now they own the entire building! We are so lucky to be part of that history.
5. How does the menu reflect your shared heritage and experience?
Darwin Pornel: The cocktail menu is the centerpiece of what we’re building at June Baby. We are definitely putting Filipino flavors on display, and using all the techniques we’ve learned from working at some of NYC’s best bar programs to do it. In the end, the goal is to put a delicious drink in front of someone that might trigger a feeling of familiarity or nostalgia, but the experience is totally different because it’s in a cocktail format. That same cocktail could be a totally new experience to someone else, and I think the beauty of it is that we get to share some of our culture with guests who are new to the flavors.
For the food, we wanted to highlight some nostalgia in different ways. All three of us have lived some part of our lives in California, so it only makes sense that the bar’s burger (every good bar has to have a burger), is an homage to the In-N-Out double double (with both kinds of onions, prove me wrong).
Darwin Pornel: We also want to make the food accessible to a high energy or buzzy room, so we’re planning to serve some smaller plates that are easy to enjoy. And if you want to hang out and make a dinner out of it, we’ll serve a few heartier options as well.
Roxanne Bangalan: We’re lucky to live in a city with so many incredible Filipino businesses, but most of them are restaurants, and we wanted to create something that feels personal to us. One of the things we love most about living here is the potential for spontaneity so we wanted to create a casual space where you can drop in for a drink on a Tuesday or celebrate a special night. It's a place where you can feel seen by the community, whether you're alone with a book or out with a large group of friends.
6. You've been very intentional about staffing and community partnerships. What values guide those choices?
Roxanne Bangalan: We want to be equitable and we want to see our community thrive. We intend to build the type of business model that allows us to pay livable wages, offer health insurance to show our team that hospitality can be a sustainable career. We’re hoping to connect with like-minded business owners with the same values and vision. We've also collaborated with Filipino artists and vendors for everything from our interior art to our uniforms. It's been rewarding to bring in the people we've met through our years in the community.
As far as the more fun stuff like our branding, our brand universe is almost done and that's been a really rewarding process. We've been really intentional about who we're working with. We are working with two Filipina Brooklyn based artists (who are sisters) that will be doing the art that’s going to be displayed on the back bar. We're lucky and we've met really cool people along the way. We are working with one of our first apparel vendors to help us design and source all of our uniforms. It really feels like a full circle moment.
7. As you approach opening day, what are you most excited about?
Darwin Pornel: Well, the lease is signed and we’re wrapping up construction, and more importantly, the community excitement is already bursting. We’ve been so lucky to have a lot of eyes on what we’re building, and honestly, I just want to be able to open so that we can welcome everybody in. Right now, our main focus while we complete construction is connecting with investors who understand the power of this niche and want to help us bring this first-of-its-kind third-culture experience to life. We aren't just building a cocktail venue; we're building a home for a vibrant community.
Roxanne Bangalan: I’m just excited to finally have people in the space! It’s been a challenging process, but it truly has been a labor of love from start to finish. I’m so grateful to our family and friends who have supported us and I just can’t wait to show them what we can do! Also, I’m really looking forward to utilizing the space to host local organizers and the causes they support. We’ve been so lucky to have met folks who support their community by leading mutual aid efforts or canvassing for local elections, and June Baby will always be a space that supports that work. The most important thing is creating a place where people feel at home.
8. Where can readers follow your journey?
Darwin Pornel: You can find us at 197 Second Avenue in the East Village. For inquiries about investment opportunities, partnerships, or collaborations, email us at kumusta@junebaby.nyc, and follow our progress on Instagram.
