If you’ve been on TikTok or Instagram lately, you’ve probably seen it: a DJ in the middle of a grocery store, titas and kiddos line-dancing between the aisles, free pandesal sailing through the air, and entire Filipino communities turning Seafood City into a full-on fiesta.
To find out how this all started (and what’s next), Mabuhay Canada hopped on a call with Patricia Francisco, Director of Digital Marketing and Events at Seafood City.
Francisco’s marketing team is behind Late Night Madness, the viral dance parties popping up in Seafood City locations across North America.
Q: Beyond the fun, what did Late Night Madness do for Seafood City as a brand and business?
Patricia: “Before we go into the business side, the biggest thing we realized was how our brand was able to connect to the Filipino community through these events.
We’ve been able to promote the Filipino culture.
Seafood City has always been a home away from home.
We saw Filipinos redefining what it means to be Filipino-American or Filipino-Canadian and really embracing that identity.
Of course, we’ve also never had this much foot traffic during these events in our stores, so it’s been so exciting to see all kinds of people come into the stores and be able to celebrate in a way that hasn’t really been done.”
Q: Turning a supermarket into a dance floor isn’t exactly… normal. How did the idea start?
Patricia: “It actually started very simply: we had just opened a new store in Daly City in Northern California and were tasked with launching a Filipino street food line.
When our team met, we asked, ‘What if we introduce street food in an experiential way?’
In the Philippines, street food isn’t just food—it’s loud music, karaoke, people hanging out by the sidewalk.
We wanted to recreate that energy, but in a more refined way for a grocery setting, so we brought in a DJ, curated a new street food-inspired menu, and extended store hours till midnight.
We really wanted to make the the experience as organic as possible.
The program was never pre-planned.
We went with the flow, of what the community wanted.
People started dancing, and we just amplified it with things like free chips and pandesal.”
Q: You’ve done parties in both the U.S. and Canada. Any big differences between the two?
Patricia: “Our observation was very interesting because you would think that there would be differences, but we saw more similarities.
Sometimes when we look at the content, it’s hard to tell which country it’s from because the reaction is the same.
We wanted to be able to give the same experience and feeling towards as many of our customers as we possibly could.”
Q: What are you hearing from people about how these nights make them feel?
Patricia: “One thing that really surprised me is how many people described it as healing.
We’re living through a lot of uncertainty everywhere, and yet Filipinos still find something to celebrate—that keeps coming up as a theme.
People talk about the pride of coming from these roots and having that heritage be so visible and loud.
In the U.S., some even said it felt like the loudest Filipino American History Month celebration they’d experienced in years.
It’s helping people connect back to what it is to be Filipino: ‘Wow, this is Filipino. This is us.’”
Q: What do you think the Filipino community is craving—and what’s next for Late Night Madness?
Patricia: “People can expect more surprises.
We realized people are craving what we call a ‘third space’—not home, not work, but a safe place where they can build connections and feel completely at home.
Late Night Madness has become that third space where Filipinos can be themselves, meet new people, and discover new food and experiences together.
There’s also a big desire to be seen; each location wants to make its event memorable, whether it’s Scarborough, or Mississauga or Edmonton.
As for what’s next, people can definitely expect more pop-up events.
We want to keep it as magical and spontaneous, but we want to make every event have a different spin to it.
The best way to find out when it’s happening is to follow our Facebook and Instagram and download the SFC Plus app, where people can get their free tickets and we can safely manage the crowd.”
