My name is Donovan Goh and I run Old Habits Boutique and Café. It all began with 20 seats in a lazy neighbourhood of Telok Blangah Rise HDB estate shophouses in 2014. I and my wife, Selena, are both avid collectors of vintage items; we even participated in flea markets to sell surplus vintage items. This was the beginning of the combination of vintage retail with high-quality food. Old Habits is a mix of a retro shop and a café with a good vibe!
Despite our chemical engineering experience and corporate backgrounds, Selena and I have operated Old Habits for 9 years – 5 at Telok Blangah Rise and 4 at SAFRA Mount Faber. Because we already sold vintage items at the flea market, we initially planned to run a vintage retail store only. We loved interacting with the people we met. However, we realized that only doing retail would not be feasible in Singapore’s business environment, so we also included the food side of things. We understood that food would be our largest source of revenue and resolved to work tirelessly to improve this aspect.
Business-wise, our current goal is to expand Old Habits into a takeaway version and possibly into a franchise in the future. In terms of vintage, we intend to focus on expanding inventory, ecommerce, prop rentals in the short-term, as well as vintage flea market setup, gathering vintage items, and perhaps creating educational videos in the long-term.
To this day, the journey has been tough, and it still is. In the first year of business, we experienced the most highs and lows. Our most memorable moment was when Selena was 7 months pregnant when we opened the store in July 2014. This is our first child. My wife was serving drinks and food in the shop while I was in the kitchen cooking. My first time cooking was extremely challenging, but especially for her due to pregnancy and the fact that she moved around a lot.
Whenever I saw her working and carrying our child, I was inspired and actually extremely impressed, yet at the same time I was angry with myself for not being able to carry it for her. The experience was both mentally and physically exhausting. After giving birth to our boy, Selena only rested and confined herself for two weeks before returning to the café to help out. I was truly amazed and in awe of her.
Consistency is now the biggest challenge, gaining eyeballs and footfall to our café and social media pages, food preparation, and branding. In order to achieve these goals, I’m working to streamline our food processing with upgraded equipment and have hired Stark Media to manage our social media content. My biggest wish is to step back once all this has been resolved and spend more time with my family.
I think that the key to success is to be persistent and open to trying new things, even when you don’t know what they are. There is no job too big or too small. It is imperative to do small things every day (even completing one little task a day) and to take victory in incremental steps. The advice I would give my younger self would be to be persistent and never give up on what inspires you; don’t miss a chance to put your best foot forward.
One thing that inspires me is to do this business well and have my children and wife say this journey has been worthwhile when they see the café. It reminds me of my dad, who sacrificed a lot for his family, and I hope to emulate him.
We would like Old Habits to be remembered as a blend of a vintage shop and a fusion café. In addition to providing unique, quality, and affordable food fare, the interior is curated with vintage collectibles to give the place a strong sense of nostalgia. We invite you to immerse yourself in an environment like no other, enjoy soul-nourishing food and treasure hunt for a unique gift (for others and yourself) or relive long forgotten memories.
Come visit us at 2 Telok Blangah Way, Mount Faber SAFRA, #01-04 (Next to the Swimming Pool).
Opening Hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 11am to 9pm
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