In light of extended dine-in restrictions for restaurants and closure of businesses such as bars, gyms and beauty salons, business owners have had to endure months of mixed communications, closures without compensation and more. With that in mind, welcome to the first entry of “Quick bites with” series, where we talk to business owners in Bangkok about pivoting during the pandemic.
Quick Bites with Nic Santikul, founder of all day brunch spot Babyccino
Briefly explain the inspiration/concept of Babyccino and how it started
As much as we enjoy chilling and catching up with friends & family, we’re also very serious eaters and drinkers, so that’s where it all started. Babyccino offers specialty coffee and all-day brunch, but the menu extends to hearty and heavy dishes. Many ingredients are made in-house, from pasta to granola to jam, and as a micro-bakery, our bread and pastry are made fresh daily in our very own little kitchen.
We want people to really experience our food and drinks creation so we always think of ourselves as being “more than just a cafe”.
Babyccino combines the elegance of a contemporary cafe with the casual nature of a neighborhood eatery. It is a light filled comfortable space with a beautiful garden for an early morning coffee & bread or an all-day long brunch.
We are essentially a community space where people can get together, drink great coffee, and have a joyful meal of shared dishes.
Reaction to the first and now third covid wave. How did you quickly pivot?
During the first covid wave, luckily Babyccino was still under construction so we weren’t affected much.
However, the second and third wave were kind of expected, so we had some plans in mind about each scenario and different option plans to put into action accordingly.
We quickly put Babyccino in all the delivery platforms regardless of the GP. Also, since we decided we wouldn’t lay off employees, we offer promotional prices for customers in order to gain as much sales as possible.
After the partial lockdown began, we extended our closing time (8am-6pm, extended to 8pm now) to gain more sales opportunities.
Usually, we come up with new food, bread & dessert, and drinks creations at least monthly. So when the lockdown started, we were able to quickly launch those menus to attract deliveries.
For example, we make “babka cup” bread that’s good for home delivery, and also great as a gift box for friends & family.
Very soon, we’ll also add more comfort food menu that’s delivery friendly such as fried chicken and pasta.
Importantly, we try to control our costs by closely managing the inventory and temporarily removing the less popular menus to help save some costs.
Advice to business owners during these time
Minimize your cost structure.
Try to be agile so you can respond to unexpected changes without wasting much costs. If your employees are valuable, try to keep them.
It really depends on the type of business but for restaurants: try to come up with new menus that are easy to sell on delivery platforms, do budget marketing like sending food to bloggers and putting your restaurant on social media, or talk to other players to see whether you can collaborate or do something together to boost sales.
Last but not least, we hope everyone will stand through this together. Anyone need our help with anything, please feel free to contact us 😉
What’s your favorite dish at babyccino & any covid promotions?
Honestly, all of them! But my regulars are:
For breakfast – any brioche bun with coffee is just a perfect combo.
For lunch – I would pair spicy meatballs fettuccine with a bowl of miso glazed cauliflower & kale salad.
Covid promotions:
- Line official account:
-free delivery in Thonglor Ekkamai Pridi area by our staff
-for orders over 500 THB, get one free drink (130 THB)
- Grabfood: many discount promotions and free offers
Special lockdown menus:
-“Babka Cup” box set 480 THB
-Many new pasta menu coming soon!
-NFC (Nic’s Fried Chicken) coming soon!
