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Thumper Bar - A taste of New York
MEET the boys behind the newest bar in town. They might not know how to make a margarita but the 11 Singaporean businessmen behind Thumper at Goodwood Park Hotel certainly know how to mix business with pleasure.
None of the nine other businessmen are from the nightlife industry.
They include Thomas Fernandez, managing director of Pestbusters; Samuel Chia, managing director of n.y.d.c.; Arthur Tay, chairman of food distributor SUTL group; John Wee, who does business development for SUTL, and Ronnie Lim, managing director of The Event Company.
Several of them got to know each other through the Young Entrepreneurs Organisation in recent years.
Fernandez told Streats: When I started out, people were telling me, Thomas, do you know what youre getting yourself into? Its very high risk. But I looked at the business plan and the partners. And then theres David and Simon, I believe in them.
The rest of us arent here to run the business. We just want to co-own it. Its a great place to interact and to network.
Chia added: I really feel at home here. Its an appropriate place to hang out and chill out. Its a place to see and be seen.
Thumpers design was conceptualised and created by Leslie Seow of the architectural firm Ong & Ong.
The bar has three distinct areas including an al fresco area, which looks out onto the hotel carpark, offering a view of some beautiful cars, and the main bar area where local and foreign acid jazz bands perform.
But its perhaps the third area that is rather unique in Singapores nightlife scene.
The club boasts a 600 sq ft non-smoking VIP/members room that has a touch of New York.
We think theres a market for it, Chin said. A lot of people dont go out to clubs because of the cigarette smoke.
At the non-smoking area, our New York deejay plays Brazilian music, which is different from the usual and very New York. And being a non-smoking area, thats also very New York.
The idea of starting a bar came about when the location, which used to house Spanish restaurant Sol, became available.
Said Chin: It all started with the location. Its convenient yet far away enough from the hustle and bustle of town. That made us really look into going about this seriously. Simon and I got together and we spoke to our people within our networks and put the team together.
The shareholders are all people who have good networks. Theyre from different walks of life, different industries.
The name Thumper was born when the team began working on a biometrics-based system for identification and payment, which is currently under development.
The system will allow members to use their thumbprint to get past the door host and into the VIP section.
Some people were using the name The Thumb bar, which somehow became Thumper, Chin said.
We thought wed just use it as a working title. It caught on and didnt sound too bad. We then came up with the idea for a logo Bambis buddy the bunny.
Fernandez added with a laugh: I deal with rodents so I was very curious when I saw the bunny.
But whats great is the use of IT applications, which is crucial in todays business.
Chin said: We want to provide a very high level of service, be it through technology or the training of our staff.
Fernandez agreed: Every one of my guests is treated as somebody. Where else can I get this kind of service? I think its wonderful that the staff here knows my guests by name.
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cool place
exec crowd (for us tai-tais!)
got jazz, sometimes latin music
comfy seats outdoor for chillout
spacious layout inside with dancefloor
when i was there (on wed nite), i no pay any cover
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