What started as a modest coffee bar in the wall in Emerald Garden has grown into one of the most recognizable special coffee spots in Singapore.
Once nestled on 6 Ann Siang Hill, Maxi Coffee Bar has built a loyal following that transmits his physical locations – thanks to founders Joy Cheng and Denise Lum’s passion for coffee, hospitality and community.
The two have been friends since high school. Denise, a former lawyer, opened Maxi Coffee Bar for the first time in 2018 as a small coffee counter. In 2020, Joy – an aspiring academic who decided that she did not want a life behind a desk and worked for years as a barista in various cafés – for her to launch a larger iteration on Ann Siang Hill.
The coffee bar was in June Allegedly informed for two days to leave his building” Striking speculation in Netizens and Stam guests About the sudden closure.
However, it seems that the founders are not yet throwing in the towel.
We spoke with joy to learn how Maxi Coffee Bar has navigated the competitive F&B market of Singapore while we remain faithful to their profession.
A space for warmth and connection
From the first day, the duo presented the Maxi coffee bar as more than just a caffeine stop. They wanted it to be a warm, inviting space where people could relax and feel at home.
While ‘bar’ in Italian means ‘coffee shop’, Joy and Denise deliberately chose the word to distinguish themselves from the sea of cafés in Singapore. For them, Maxi Coffee Bar is a ‘holy space’ that reflects their identity in the coffee scene – one that they are without compromise.
“Consumers sometimes have very fixed expectations when they hear the word ‘café’ – scrambled eggs on toast, things like that,” Joy explained. “We wanted people to imagine something else.”
The term “beam” also nods to the origin of Maxi in a compact space, where intimacy and connection are the key.
Coffee for everyone
Despite its modest space, Maxi Coffee Bar serves two types of customers: those who come in for a quick coffee and those who stay hanging for hours. In whatever camp you are, the staff make it a point to chat with you – ask about your day, your work or your life.
“I find a great meaning in talking to customers about what is going on in their lives,” said Joy. “They have become friends of customers. That’s how we keep them.”
Their dream is a double service model of their new space: quickly at the front for busy customers and slow, relaxed service inside for those who want to enjoy their coffee and the atmosphere.
While their former place in Ann Siang Hill was small, it was still a cozy place that was bubbled with coffee lovers.
From Boon to Cup
During the first two years, Maxi Coffee Barced beans of international traditional coffee roasters whose values are tailored to those of them. Ultimately, Joy and Denise decided to express their own coffee sides. Based on years of experience, they started looking for green coffee directly from small farmers in countries such as Panama and Ethiopia – beans that are ethically grown and offer distinctive taste profiles.
For the past four years, Maxi Coffee has roasted these beans in-house in co-scheduling spaces such as community coffee and Tai Seng, so that they are imported by trusted partners such as Nordic approach and Glyph offer. Every green coffee is selected by rigorous flavors before it is committed to a steady stock.
Their preference is for light roasts that emphasize the natural fruity tones of Coffee, which reflects its origin as the seed of a fruit. After all, coffee is the seed of a fruit – and Factors such as soil, climate and height in the growing area influence are aroma, acidity and sweetness.
Since 2023, roasting their own beans has given them full control over taste and quality, as well as the opportunity to offer roles that go beyond Barista -work – purchasing and roasting.
The food menu was designed as a supplement to their drinks, from traditional bakes from small local bakers to their home-made sandwiches, which have been a fan favorite over the years.
Stay true without haunting trends
The marketing of Maxi Coffee Bar is almost completely organic, where the team shares authentic fragments of their day instead of haunting fads.
“We don’t enjoy trends after it,” said Joy. “We prefer to focus on what we believe in.”
They also maintain strict recruitment standards, looking for staff who share their passion for both coffee and people. This approach has paid off, with a consistent high -retention percentage of staff.
Their coffee has become so familiar that they have launched a line of canned filter coffee that customers can enjoy everything. Maxi’s canned Coffee is still available to buyTogether with their shopping bags roasted by home on their website.
Learning beyond the borders
The dedication of the duo to their craft extends much further than Singapore. They travel to Coffee Origins – most recent Colombia – to taste, study and bring back taste inspiration.
Joy is also active in coffee competitions, not just to win prizes, but to learn from other baristas and techniques. They organize guest brewers from abroad, such as Switzerland’s Rose Coffee Roastersand occasionally perform pop-ups with local F&B such as such as Uglisabi To keep their food menu fresh for customers.
For them they want to make the experience to go to their bar as rewarding as consuming the tricks of special coffee they serve, of course and experience -oriented.
Defend
As a small bootstrapped company, Maxi Coffee Bar has passed its part of challenges-from the early days in a condominium corner to the survival of the COVID-19 Pandemie. For Joy and Denise, enduring those difficult years one of their most proud achievements, and they take their hearts in how far the company has come.
In the competitive F&B scene of Singapore, keeping special coffee, both accessible and of high quality, is a continuous balance exercise. They are grateful that they have achieved the costs without endangering ethical sourcing, taste standards or the joy of experience.
The sudden closure of their outlet by Ann Siang Hill led to curiosity among loyal customers. Joy shared that Maxi Coffee Bar became additional damage in a dispute between their most important tenant and the landlord, Although they pay their rent on time.
As sub-tenants, their lease agreement was only with the most important tenant. When the latter had failed and broke their lease, the landlord required – on response to the Maxi coffee team to leave the building.
Despite the sudden closure, Maxi Coffee does not yet give up. They will open their new coffee bar in September. For now, customers can catch them with Wake -up signA bar run through Denise, at the weekend in the same neighborhood that serves Maxi’s coffee.
Maxi Coffee Bar keeps looking ahead
In a café scene often filled with cookie-cutter concepts, Maxi Coffee Bar remains standing out by keeping coffee in the center and the community in the heart. Whether it is a quick collection meals or a persistent afternoon chat, Maxi has shown that it is here to stay – whatever it is capable of.
Joy’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple but sobering: you have to be ready to pay the price for their dreams.
“You must be completely convinced by your ‘why’. Because the journey is so difficult, any rational person would give up. Those who don’t do that do it because they love it.”
Looking ahead, the duo hopes to continue to serve exceptional coffee with a targeted focus, to deepen their profession and broaden their range to share great coffee with even more people.
- Read more about Maxi Coffee Bar here.
- Read other articles that we have written about Singaporean companies here.
Featured Image Credit: Maxi Coffee Bar
#Maxi #Coffee #Bar #continues #burn #real #connections #sudden #closure