A brand-new coffee shop has actually opened up in Damansara Jaya’s Atria Buying Gallery, and it’s not simply any kind of coffee shop. Instead, it’s a book coffee shop.
Called One Afternoon, it was started by Ben Lim, an electric & & digital design grad.
Prior to beginning the cafe, Ben additionally started MyTaman and Pegasuswork, 2 applications utilized in 400 approximately residential or commercial property growth tasks in Malaysia.
According to Ben, MyTaman, which has site visitor monitoring and panic switch aid functions, are utilized by a lot of tamans in Damansara Jaya, with around 5,000 customers.
Using earnings created from MyTaman, One Afternoon was introduced on January 1, 2024 with a capex of around RM120K.
When inquired about the cafe’s name, Ben shared, “I was reading a book about Taiping and its surrounding township Kuala Sepetang (Port Weld) where my old man was a fisherman.”
After that, it struck him that the Sepetang in Kuala Sepetang suggested one afternoon.
Ben mused, “I felt it was romantic, and being a fisherman’s son, the name has its sentimental value for me.”
However why a book cafe?
If you’re a moms and dad in PJ like Ben is, you’ll understand that weekend breaks are commonly invested in mall.
Nonetheless, Ben has actually discovered that in the location and its numerous mall, there aren’t any kind of with a book coffee shop principle where moms and dads can loosen up with a beverage while their youngsters review publications (as opposed to being chained to their cellphones).
The closest, he said, would certainly be Eslite Range in The Starhill.
“One Afternoon is to provide the solution to that problem,” the owner stated.
And Also, both Ben and his child are serious visitors, a lot to ensure that they have actually been lacking room in the house to maintain their publications. One Afternoon hence straightens with their rate of interest (along with assists address their room concern).
“Although 1/3 of the books are from my own collection, I am blessed to be staying in the Damansara Jaya area,” he stated. “When I told [the community] I have a book cafe in the WhatsApp group, the donated books started sort of flying in.”
Ben shared that he was rather amazed by the series of titles One Afternoon has actually gathered so far, however it makes good sense due to the fact that they have actually been given away by individuals from all profession.
Some titles he highlighted consist of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, The Sorcerer by Paulo Coelho, and Definitely You’re Kidding, Mr Feynman! by Richard Feynman.
Apart from its range of publications, One Afternoon dishes out artisan coffee, breads, along with cookies and gelato made by Ben’s spouse.
Obviously, their trademark Cempedak gelato has actually currently brought in some return clients.
One core offering at One Afternoon is their coffee that comes packed with a cookie or gelato.
“From my own experience, when we parents go to any café, we have a limited choice of what to order for our noisy kids,” Ben mentioned. “Hence the bundled strategy, which will buy a few minutes of peaceful reading time.”
A library system
Greater than simply a coffee shop where you can review publications, One Afternoon in fact operates in a similar way to alibrary That implies visitors can bring obtained publications home.
The existing system is instead hand-operated, including a physical book rental where information like the book title, day, debtor’s name, and call are penciled down.
Moving forward, Ben does have strategies to digitalise the procedure, which must be very easy provided his history.
Each book service is RM5. To make certain customers return their publications, there’s a single RM25 down payment. This down payment is not per book, however each.
Consumers are provided 2 weeks, however their down payments would not be invalidated as long as the book is returned, also if it’s behind the target date.
“So, as we do not void the deposit and do not have penalties if the customer borrows for more than two weeks, our offer of RM5 book rental per book should still be attractive to book readers,” Ben discussed.
For the area
Ben thinks that the Atria Buying Gallery place is suitable for their target market of family members with kids.
Found on the 2nd flooring, it’s simply a rock’s get rid of from a piano centre, a pet dog store, a playground, and also a preschool. This, Ben thinks, provides One Afternoon the foot web traffic they require.
“Currently, we want to be very focused in Atria only, but maybe with additional space where we can turn into coworking or lifestyle concepts,” Ben included.
The owner thinks that maintaining to a solitary place however perhaps having a larger room will certainly maintain overhanging reduced.
Ben additionally involves an online-to-offline method, taking advantage of the MyTaman application’s information network to connect to possible clients. The owner recognizes that social networks advertising and marketing via TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook will certainly be crucial also.
In Addition To that, they’re counting on word of mouth for return clients. One Afternoon will certainly additionally have regular monthly occasions, varying from blockchain occasions to chess centers.
Created for Damansara Jaya locals by a resident himself, the One Afternoon book coffee shop wants to be an area where area participants can see, not simply one, however any kind of afternoon.
Discover more concerning One Afternoon right here.
Review various other write-ups we have actually discussed F&B organizations right here.
Included Picture Debt: One Afternoon
