Tag: Covid-19

COVID-19 Special: Interview with Peter Francis Alukka, Co-Owner of Picotin Express

COVID-19 Special: Interview with Peter Francis Alukka, Co-Owner of Picotin Express

Have you met Peter Francis, co-owner of Picotin Express?

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Picotin Express first came to life in 2007 at the old stables of the Turf Club Road. From the French word for a ration of horse feed, the name “Picotin” has been promptly adopted. We are one of the first food and beverage establishments at the old Turf Club. Rapidly, Picotin became a neighborhood bistro where everyone gets together.

Tell us a bit about you, Picotin and the story behind you and the restaurant:

I started with Picotin 2008 as a part-timer employer and rose through the ranks and became General Manager by 2015. In 2017, with the backing of a private equity firm, I had an opportunity to take over the business. We expanded and launched on the East Coast in 2018. It has been a long journey with the company but I feel in my heart that the journey has just begun.

What does ‘service’ and ‘hospitality’ mean to you (in these uncertain Covid-19 times)?

Throughout our history, Picotin has always been known as the friendly neighbourhood restaurant. We stand for family, we stand for friends, we stand for neighbourhood. We like to think of ourselves as a hub. At this moment, we are trying to reassure our clients and maintain our clientbase by offering takeaway. We are trying to adapt and reconsider our marketing strategies, how we can engage with our members directly, and support them throughout the pandemic. At Picotin, both the staff and management, engage in personal communication, and assure all our customers that we are still here.

Hospitality has not changed that much for us. Hospitality to us means what we do extra, and that is what makes us stand out from the crowd. Especially now. Everybody does the usual things – but how can we go the extra mile for our customers? Considering our promotions, and packages. Our members are still supporting us, and they are showing immense understanding for the situation. From a business perspective, we are all competing, but we are still in the same field. We include our passion, and combine it together with service and hospitality.

We have also become more flexible in our service. There are no restrictions. Any time our customers need us, we will be there. We love our customers, so service is important. Our regular customers who came to sit and eat before, still come and order takeaway. We have to stand together, and try. Support is crucial.

I don’t know what is going to happen. Everybody is struggling – business wise, and financially – all we can do is do the best we can.

What impact has COVID-19 had on your business?

Revenues are down. We have also experienced limitations as to delivery and takeaway. Even though we push our limits, we have lost a vital part of our business. For example, family time spent in our restaurants during the weekend is gone. We were not prepared for this. But now, we are adapting ourselves to this new measures, and we are changing every day to try to accommodate the requests. But, also, there are limitations in terms of manpower.

Picotin is a family. We have nearly 28 full time staff, 16/18 part time staff. Up until now, we haven’t resorted to any salary cuts or retrenchments, it’s always our staff – the Picotin family first! To be honest the only focus and prayers are to survive through this. We are forever grateful to our suppliers, service providers and landlords for their willingness to fight this together with us by supporting us. We already know we will open with limited seating. The situation is very uncertain, with little visibility. It is hard to plan, but we have to. The impact is pretty bad, for all of us in the F&B industry. How can we survive for the next 6 months? It’s crucial and critical to pull together.

What steps are you putting in place to help your business during these times?

Again, no staff on unpaid leave – staff is family. I have grown up with them, I have been working with them forever. It would be a painful process to have them leave. But we are standing together, and we fight together, in effort to survive.

We have come to realise that we need to plan for different strategies, and change our business model, that goes with prepared meals, take away. Every business will start thinking of new business strategies – but how long can they last? When the circuit breaker started, I came up with a plan, we mapped what we could and wanted to do, and took initiative. When it first started, it took us one week to implement measures, and we were surviving on very small margins. Without volume, you cannot cover costs. But now, we run a call centre. I trained staff, and got them in line. Now, we have a smooth call centre which receives our clients orders, which are then handed on to delivery and so forth.

We adapt and improvise everyday, with minimal cost. We use our existing team, and they try different things. Revising our system everyday, trying to achieve the best results. Previously, we were running separate, stand alone restaurants. Now, we try to connect our restaurants, set up a platform of collaboration when it comes to our call system, and so that we can better automate our orders, inventory, and so on. To summarise, we are increasing our reach, we are staying close to our customers, we are internalising our processes, we are increasing our accountability, and we have digitised our business model.

How do you see the industry after this is all over?

It is difficult to know! We don’t know how long this will last. Nobody can give an answer. It might take a few years. This might be the future, so we will develop a healthy system that communicates, delivers, executes perfectly. We will be prepared. We will get a system in order, and it needs to be perfect. Now, you have to be able to think out of the box, and improvise, at a low cost. Every penny counts now, and will in the future. You have to be sharp, cunning and calculating! We have no idea what is going to happen. For anybody, in any business.

What is the dish/ drink that will be most popular for your customers? / is most ordered now?

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Last month, we launched a new deal that was incredibly popular! Our pizza and beer deal! We almost lost money, our customers asked us “how are you making money?!” But it covered expenses, looking at the mass market of customers who ordered. It was a successful promotion. We also did a BBQ menu, which is still going incredibly well. All packages have been so successful. But, ala-carte deals are obviously not going that well. We are all promoting such deals now. Customers today, the majority, 80-90 % look for a deal, as they are working from home and growing conscious of costs. We can’t blame them, we simply need to capture more market share. Which means taking a pay cut.

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It’s not that that people don’t want to support us. But the market is flooding with offers and deals. Every now and then, we have to remind our customers that we are still here. And then they remember, and order. Most important to me, is that we can support our team. We are fighting, and we are still standing!

Did you know that you can order food from Picotin Express using the MultiCo app? Download the app today, and receive $10 simply for joining! 

Why wait? Download the app today and become a part of our community!

Do your part in supporting local business!

COVID-19: Special Interview with Goh Huilin, Creative & Marketing Manager of Tadcaster Hospitality

COVID-19: Special Interview with Goh Huilin, Creative & Marketing Manager of Tadcaster Hospitality

Have you met Goh Huilin, Creative & Marketing Manager of Tadcaster Hospitality Centre and Cafe Melba?

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Huilin and her team are working hard to make sure that you, your family, your friends and colleagues are properly fed while working from home, with their exciting dishes combining elements from Australia and Asia.

Get to know Huilin, and learn more about one of their restaurants – Cafe Melba!

Tell us a bit about you, Tadcasters/ Café Melba and the story behind the restaurant.

Tadcaster Hospitality in Singapore is the umbrella brand for BQ Bar, Bull and Bear, Molly Malone’s, The Exchange, Café Melba @ Goodman and @ Mediapolis. Cafe Melba is a relaxed cafe and restaurant concept developed by Tadcaster Hospitality, which blends influences from (Melb)ourne and (A)sia for a gourmet yet leisurely dining experience. We opened our first Cafe Melba in the East at Goodman Arts Centre in 2012, and Cafe Melba at Mediapolis in the West in May 2016.

Since the opening, we have become a beloved restaurant in Singapore, famous for our all day breakfast offer, traditional weekend roasts, BBQ festivals, and the best kid-friendly atmosphere in the Little Red Dot. Over the years, we’ve built quite an audience amongst those seeking a strong latte or just a little break enjoying an after work vino. Parents can also enjoy a classic Eggs Benedict plate in peace, while their little ones burn energy on our infamous bouncy castle or astro-turf football pitch and play area!

What does ‘service’ and ‘hospitality’ mean to you (in these uncertain COVID-19 times)?

I believe we are doing a very important job, ensuring that we continue to offer services to our guests, which we still offer via deliveries from www.cafemelba.com.sg. We have developed our delivery system in parallel with the main players, and we try to be hospitable in terms of tailoring meals to our regular customers around their preferred times.

What impact has COVID-19 had on your business?

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on our business. We have had zero sales, apart from Café Melba @ Goodman’s deliveries. Our regular guests have been supporting us the best they can, but it’s never going to be the same as sitting down and raising a glass with them. Obviously there is also a balancing act to be done between ensuring that the company survives this period, while also making sure we do the best we can to keep our staff employed. The government has been helpful in this regard, providing income support and paid training for staff that might have to take a period of unpaid leave.

What steps are you putting in place to help your business during these times?

We have negotiated, mostly successfully, with our landlords to get rent either waived or partially waived, or deferred. We have also been trying to utilise the various government grants and support schemes. We are also actively making sure to keep our staff happy, by keeping them as engaged as possible.

Moreover, to ensure our staff’s safety and welfare, we have worked out a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), including various measures such as the provision of hand sanitiser, masks, regular cleaning of common touch areas such as door handles, temp check, safe entry and planning for social distancing measures. We need to wait for final confirmation from the government on the guidelines, but for now, we believe we are ready to go.

How do you see the industry after this is all over?

I believe there will be slow recovery. There will continue to be restrictions as to the numbers allowed in venues, just as we have seen in Australia. Australia seems to be about a month ahead of Singapore regarding the easing of measures. People will still be encouraged to work from home, so there will be less foot traffic. We will also have to wait some time to see tourists and business travellers return. Hopefully people living in Singapore will be keen to get out initially after many weeks of lockdown.

What is the dish/ drink that will be most popular for your customers? / is most ordered now?

These are the current top 5 items for our delivery & takeaway:

  1. Family Combo Deal
  2. Parma Ham Pizza
  3. Chicken Avocado Sandwich
  4. Good Ol’ Beef Burger
  5. Classic Hawaiian Pizza

 

Café Melba is offering Delivery & Takeaway options too! Enjoy Pizza Bundle deal that comes with our signature thin crust pizza with 10 different toppings to choose from and 6 bottle of beer to get you through your live telecast sport night! Psst… check out our Meat Box Bundle, perfect for an easy night in with your family for a steal! Click here to order now! Or visit www.cafemelba.com.sg.

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Did you know that you can order food from Cafe Melba using the MultiCo app? Download the app today, and receive $10 simply for joining! 

Why wait? Download the app today and become a part of our community!

Do your part in supporting local business!