His solution? “I try to prioritise whatever I want to do. If I want to take a break, I’ll just announce on Instagram that we won’t be open on a certain day,” Kuah explained. “So far, I think most of my customers are pretty okay with it, no one has been upset if I close up which I really appreciate.”
He typically takes one Friday off each month, depending on customer flow. So check his Instagram account before visiting.
How is business so far?
“I’d say business is pretty decent – I can make a profit. The crowd is pretty substantial, and I don’t really have to worry about whether people will come,” Kuah said.
His lunch crowd usually consists of customers from beyond the neighbourhood, while dinner sees many neighbours dropping by or taking away food. “So far I’ve not gotten any complaints from neighbours, in fact they’ve been very supportive!”
The home cafe, Kuah said, is his way of learning the ropes before eventually opening a proper cafe someday.
“The goal is to open an actual cafe, but I’m not there yet and I don’t have the capital yet,” he explained. “I’m not super confident to be the sole boss of a legit cafe, so I would say running a home cafe helps me learn the back-end stuff and [improve my] cooking. Eventually, if I open my own cafe, I’ll have a certain standard at least.”
With one last module before he graduates, Bryan Kuah is already thinking about his next move. “I’ll probably work another job as well after graduating to save up [for the cafe] as fast as I can. Media isn’t out of the question, but I think the fastest route would be to become a property agent as I’m also interested in that industry.”
Why real estate? “My parents move house a lot – we’ve relocated about eight to nine times already. So I kind of have an understanding of how it works. Definitely not to the technical detail, but that’s something I can learn,” he revealed. “My parents enjoy moving house because they enjoy the change of environment every few years and it’s kind of like an investment in a way.”
According to Kuah, his degree is simply a backup “I think my parents are happy with whatever I choose to do as long as it’s an honest living,” he said.
Dining and Cooking