F&B Trailblazers: Jess and Yi Jun of No Sleep Club On Adapting During A Pandemic
On a regular day, running an F&B outlet can be pretty tough business. What with intense competition and high cost of rental, successfully running one requires juggling multiple roles and hurdles, all on top of providing top notch customer service and food.
With the coronavirus outbreak and recent circuit breaker measures, this can be an especially trying period particularly for up-and-coming F&B outlets, who have to constantly adapt to new operating standards. F&B outlets have witnessed foot traffic and closures, and most recently, a tightened list of essential services to minimise movement and interactions.
No Sleep Club is one of the establishments that have beared the brunt of new restrictions since March. “With limited staffing and zero experience with this new level of operation, it hasn’t been easy and we have to just run with it,” says Juan Yi Jun, co-founder, who previously held post in the likes of 1880 and Operation Dagger. She is joined by co-founder Jessica Hutchinson, who was previously at Proof and Company and 28 Hong Kong Street.
Admitting that this current climate is a “whole new ballgame,” the team has found new ways to adapt and cater to customers on a stronger level, offering a delivery menu of their bottled favourites.
The cocktail bar, which has only been six months in the running, also doubles as a kitchen concept, serving coffee, cocktails, and tasty grubs from day to night. Despite its young age, the bar has already become a favourite both within the industry and consumers, and was recently announced as the Top 10 Regional Finalist as the Best New International Cocktail Bar on the Tales of The Cocktail Spirited Awards.
Ahead, we speak to the duo about their business, how the local F&B industry has banded together to help those in times of crisis, a formula for at-home cocktails, and the music they have been listening to to keep their spirits up.
What does a day in a life look like for you now under the Circuit Breaker?
Hutchinson (H): The days are a lot different; it’s a whole new ball game. We now come into work, all devices whipped out -- Jun and I each have our own laptops and phones out, as well as the NO SLEEP CLUB phone, navigating orders coming in from every direction. This includes personal texts, Instagram comments, DM's, emails, phone calls. We're busy coordinating logistics, deliveries, addresses, making sure the kitchen isn't overwhelmed with multiple orders at the same time, but balancing that out so the drivers are also able to pick up and deliver food and drinks that we are confident representing under NO SLEEP CLUB.
Yi Jun (J): The days have blended into each other. These days we wake up earlier so that we can have some time to ourselves and our French bulldog before going into work. We now start the day coordinating orders from all our platforms. But with limited staffing and zero experience with this new level of operation, it hasn’t been easy and we have to just run with it. We do this nonstop, and before we know it, it’s usually dark before we can catch a break and sit down for the first time in the day. Then, we take some time to evaluate how the day went and how we can improve the experience for those who are ordering with us before we call it a day.
How have you adapted No Sleep Club since the pandemic began?
H: Luckily for us, we're relatively small and Jun & I can make quick decisions, as the changes happen on a day to day basis. There's no "hierarchy" channels that we have to go through to get approval. If something needs to be changed, we think about it, and make it work. The pandemic has definitely made us realize we all need to communicate clearly, and someone at any point has to be the calm one. Sometimes I lose my cool, and Jun’s the cool one that brings us back, and sometimes vice-versa.
J: Again, as luck would have it, before No Sleep Club graduated to Keong Saik, our first version was a takeaway cocktail joint on Club street. It had three seats and rotating bottled cocktails on the menu.
I have always designed all our collateral in-house, so our packaging materials were designed quickly, with drinks on our current menu prepped in batches for quick and easy service. We also keep every glass bottle to recycle. Thus, product-wise, we were well prepped for the Circuit Breaker.
However, with the entire country now online we face competition with every cocktail bar in the country. On top of easy-to-bottle cocktails, we needed a menu that could help us stand out, such as the inclusion of our carbonated highballs, which are not easily replicable at home.
Online orders also make less room for mistakes - you can’t rely on the charm of your staff, or the ambience in your venue. The product has to be perfect, the delivery precise. It's definitely more work but it also allows us to react to changes quicker without going through a third party. We chose not to use any delivery platform to keep costs low, and it gives us a chance to talk to each customer directly.
Each bottle that goes out to the guests are also personalized for deeper human connection in these times of isolation. Sometimes just a friendly note can make a difference. Now more than ever, we put all our focus on the customer and their experience from order to delivery.
As F&B veterans, how do you see this impacting the future of F&B?
H: We've seen so much adaptation during this Circuit Breaker. Michelin Star restaurants are even doing take-aways and deliveries. If anything, this is where you see the solidarity of the F&B scene in Singapore. There have been so many initiatives that F&B people/venues are jumping together to form. Be it, donating food to the front line medical staff; or brands & venues, giving out food to fellow f&b industry folk who have gotten let go / pay cuts and can't afford meals. We've also had to be even more resourceful than ever regarding supplies. Singapore depends heavily on import of goods, so everyone is taking this time to ensure they're fully utilizing every single ingredient.
J: We’ve seen people moving away from fine-dining culture to semi-fine and bistro-style dining. I do believe that before the circuit breaker started, both customers and chefs/bartenders alike were getting more and more discerning about their food/drink and where it comes from, how it’s made, as opposed to how and where it’s sold. And the question we need to think about is if we remove the venue, is the product enough? How do you connect with a customer without the flair of a strong team of staff, topping up their waters, wiping their table down, cleaning their glassware etc. I think there will be a definite paradigm shift in terms of F&B operators thinking about their operations and their offerings.
Even in the bar, if you have the fanciest barware, slick moves, these might not matter if you can’t distill it into a bottle. Sustainability as well, if not a buzzword, is definitely essential now. For instance, waste coffee grinds from the bar go to a coffee paste in the kitchen for a dessert, and also into a coffee scrub Hutch makes by hand as a gift to clients during this isolation period.
There is a great rally of restaurants and bars that have banded together to help those that are unable to feed themselves during this period and it was almost instantaneous that the f&b world offered to help. It is an amazing community to be a part of and to use our powers for good during a time of need.
Is there anything that we as citizens can do to help save F&B in Singapore?
H: We understand that everyone can't be ordering in every night, but any kind of support you can give, even if you're tipping your delivery driver (which for us at NSC, goes completely to our drivers) or ordering something to pay -it-forward to someone else in need, counts. And if you're doing pickups, bring your own bags or tupperwares to help reduce the amount of packaging that will inevitably spike up during this time.
J: At this time, everyone needs a little more kindness. As rightly said, “When choosing to be right or to be kind, choose kind.” F&B operators are working doubly hard during these hard times, as well as their partners in delivery and supply. There are still some customers who can be difficult despite our best efforts, demanding and rude to the delivery team, despite them risking their lives delivering goods to strangers’ houses, or complaining that their food isn’t hot enough when they live really far away.
I think what people don’t usually see, is the amount of work that goes into a single dish, or drink. There is a tireless team that puts deliberate intention into making something good every step of the way, from prep to plate or glass, just to make sure the guests get what they paid for, and the emotional experience when receive their order.
Support your regular haunts if you still want them to be there after this is over, talk more if there is something you would like to see more of, or something you would see improved. We’ve seen a huge amount of support from regulars and it has been a great encouragement and validation to keep working the way we do.
What would you recommend from your menu, and why?
H: The favourites are definitely the burnt basque cheesecake… We've become some kind of cheesecake factory at this point! The crab linguine and fried chicken are also must trys. For drinks, personally the Bottled Bloody Mary is my favourite, and the Plum Spritz, which is a carbonated fizzy drink.
J: I would say the highballs as well. They are easy to drink and not something you can make yourself easily at home. Carbonated drinks also have a reputation for getting you drunk faster. Down these with a side of truffle cheese toastie or crab linguine.
What do you do to wind down or treat yourself when you’re able to catch a break?
H: I don't remember the last time we caught a break. I do try to do a quick yoga/stretch session in the morning, if i do manage to wake up earlier. It’s not a committed relationship though, haha. If not, anytime we have a little break from our devices, we take a couple breaths, take a walk outside the shop and reset to come back to turn on beast mode again.
J: Hutch and I got a new puppy 3 months ago, and any time we are able to catch a quick break, is spent with this little fella! Dogs have an amazing capability to absorb any stress or negativity. It’s almost like an electricity-free powerbank.
Any music/songs you have been listening to to keep your spirits up?
H: HAHA I have been blasting some good old classic Backstreet Boys, Brit Brit (Britney Spears) for the first hour or two of opening; and then I’ll share the music and we'll rotate anywhere from Foo Fighters, Vance Joy, Honne, Kendrick Lamar, Chet Faker. Occasionally some song that drives us crazy will come on, and we'll yell "NEXT!"
JUN: This definitely causes the most fights in the shop! When I get my choice of music, I’ll put on the old school Offspring, Foo Fighters, Muse, and once the team gets sick of that, the go-to would be any 90s hip hop. Our friends from Darker than Wax also has a killer playlist that we will be sharing soon with our bottles!
Any quick at home recipes to share?
H: I would say my cookie recipe, but if I told you, I’d have to kill you. I do bake them at NSC whenever the kitchen isn't churning out cheesecakes; but they get snatched up real quick. If you're at home and have a couple ingredients to throw around; definitely try making some drinks. Most shaken cocktails essentially stem from a 2:1:1 ration, so something strong, something sweet, something sour [if you're making a shaken drink]. Use whatever you have lying around at home and see if you can come up with something!
J: If you have some gin and vermouth at home, I would say my go to would be a 50/50 martini. I’m not fancy and I like my drinks cold, so I usually would do this on ice, and a grapefruit twist to keep things interesting.
