We love food, we love coffee, and we love riding bicycles, especially vintage steel. We grew up on stories from our father about the riders, their colourful jerseys and their bicycles in Singapore during the 1950s to 1970s. The aroma of the coffee still lingers in our minds decades on as we remember him telling us stories of European steel bicycles and their champion riders from near and far whilst brewing his morning cup or having kopi-o with his friends at the neighbourhood kopi tiam. He imbued us with passion “to always do the right thing and to do it in the right way”.

As we grew up and joined the race of life, we got lost in the single-minded pursuit of wealth and materialism. Covid came upon us and disrupted our lives. With newfound time, it became a time of reflection and thought. We realised that we harken back to the days long past of the kampung (village) lifestyle where safety was not a big concern, doors unlocked, youngsters running and playing everywhere, and older people having coffee and chatting at the kopi shop sharing their life experiences to all who listened. There was the gotong royong (mutual assistance) spirit amongst the community. Life was slower, we had time for each other, people knew your name, there were many stories to be heard and it was great. We miss it…

We know that we cannot bring back the kampung lifestyle, but we can revive the spirit. Hence, we embarked on a journey to open a cafe where everyone can commune whenever possible, chat and share experiences and where riders can gather and share stories.

In our fast-paced world where hands never leave the phones, where technology and instant “everything” have invaded every facet of our lives, where we no longer talk at dinner tables nor share our daily stories. Just checking social media and instant messages; leading to lack of social skills and lack of healthy pursuits. We have lost the sense of community, family and the appreciation for a slower pace of life.

We want to build a place where everyone can come and be at ease. There was a time when the pace of life was slow and sociable. People talked and shared stories and experiences. We cared about people, the environment, and the community as a whole. It was about us and not about me. 

It will be a place for everyone to commune where the pace of life slows down and everyone has time to socialise, talk and share stories and experiences. We will be telling the history of the bicycles and their owners in Singapore and Italy from the 1900s to 1970s whilst brewing coffee to share with all.  

It will be a journey and we invite you to come with us and share the experience together. Come join us!

To start on the road to achieve the vision, we started with a homely café with a small roastery to share coffee with friends.