An Interview with the Drips Cafe Owners

You can’t really beat word of mouth when it comes to spreading the message about good food. Jessica Tan and Alfred Chan, owners of the friendly neighbourhood café, Drips, can attest to that. A few years ago, they started their business with the goal of making high quality pastries and breads.

Fast forward today—their café at Tiong Poh Road is still going strong. Just recently, they just opened their 1st bakery, Drips Baker’s Playground, at Clementi. OpenRice was there to witness its launch and to talk to the owners on how their café and bakery can compete with the big business out there. Read the interview below!

OpenRice: What’s the concept behind Drips Café and Bakery? Jessica Tan: My business partner, Alfred Chan, had been working for a long time in hotels. He used to be from Shangri La Hotel then he moved to London. When he came back to Singapore, he wanted to bring part of the London culture here…that’s when we started Drips Café. Before we started this business, we told ourselves that we wanted to focus on the quality of pastries and breads. So, we use the freshest ingredients which we import from countries such as France and Spain. Our customers would be glad to know that we do not stinge on the quality. We believe that Singaporeans are getting more educated with food so that’s what we give them—quality breads and pastries. OpenRice: You have quite an interesting name. What’s the story behind it? Jessica Tan: In Tokyo and Taiwan, drips is actually drip coffee. It’s actually a slow brew process where you have to wait very long for it. But the product won’t disappoint. We’re also coffee drinkers so we decided on naming the café Drips. Since our products are of high quality, we also want our customers to be dripping with saliva after tasting them. Ha ha! As for the word, playground, we added that in because we want our outlet to be a second home to our employees. It gives the idea that we look forward to going to work because it’s not a burden. Our bakery is also more homey compared to others. You can feel it as soon as you step inside our outlet. So, it’s like a playground for our staff and customers.

OpenRice: It seems like you both have a good working relationship. How did you guys get to know each other? Jessica Tan: We met through my cousin. After he came back from London, he opened a small business in Commonwealth. That time, Alfred just wanted to sell home-made products. He was helming the shop himself, so it was like a one-man show.
OpenRice: How did you get involved? Jessica Tan: My cousin introduced us. He wanted us to become business partners because Alfred and I shared the same vision of letting the quality of the food speak for itself.

When we started, we focused more on the food rather than the marketing and branding. We just wanted people to come and try our food. If it’s not good, then they wouldn’t come back. But if it is, then they would definitely visit again. For us, word of mouth is very important. See Also: Explore these cafes here Searching for more dining options? Check out here