After opening its doors in 2014, Mish Mash quickly made a name for itself as the must-go bar for anyone who visits Penang, an island-state in Malaysia known for its thriving street food that has paved the way for a new wave of passionate f&b entrepreneurs. Mish Mash is the first bar in Penang to offer a vast variety of scotch whiskeys, american rye, bourbons and japanese whisky.
Last year, Mish Mash took home 3 prestigious awards from The Bar Awards. Bar of the Year- Penang, The Best Bartender of the Year – Penang, and its co-founder, Ben Ng won The Bar Awards Luminaries, an award for those who have contributed immensely to the bar community. Ben focuses a lot on his team’s progression and development, which is one of the key contributors to Mish Mash’s success. Beside grooming his team to lead Mish Mash, he also develops numerous training programs and consults f&b establishments across Asia.
Key Takeaways to consider:
- Understand who you really want to serve in your business and that you cannot please everyone. The key is to be specific about your target market.
- Your team is your asset. Allow them to run the business and take ownership. When you give room for your team to grow, they will stay with you.
- How you serve, how you portray your space changes how customers engage with you. If you need to educate your targeted customer regularly, this also means that there is a gap in your marketing communication.
- What you love to do in your free time does not translate to making a living out of it; It takes whatever it needs, and not at your own leisurely time to run an f&b business. You have to be prepared to sacrifice a lot.
Tell us more about Mish Mash
We never positioned Mish Mash as a cocktail bar. We are your everyday sidewalk bistro. The bar is a western concept, but the identity of Mish Mash itself is Asian in nature. We open a bar not because we want to make money. Mish Mash is a combination of elements that we (with his partner, Simon) are passionate about – cocktails, whiskey, and cigars.
How did Mish Mash start?
This place used to be my partner – Simon’s family old medicine hall. We used to go to school together. He called me up one day and suggested we open a bar here. During my second trip in 2014, we started to measure up the place. With RM400k in capital entirely of our own, we opened Mish Mash
So the vision of the bar stayed the same over the years?
The concept has always been to create an environment where people feel comfortable from Day One. The whole idea is to keep it as casual as possible. Also, we place much emphasis on our drinks programme which is the essence of our business.
You need to create something that enables your staff to take ownership, taking it to the next level and let them make decisions. I try not to show up as much, and it is good to see that customers know my staff more than I do. They just need to be given the opportunity, and let them have the opportunity.
Ben Ng, Mish Mash .
It is relatively easy to start an f&b business, but how do you sustain it? How do you know what works and what does not?
First of all, is to understand who you want in your space. Do not try to make everyone happy. In contrary to the customer is always right; what you offer is something that will attract a particular target market. As a business owner, you have to come to terms that you can’t cast a wide net out, you need to be more focused in your target market. That is the very first step.
Think about it; if you want to serve everyone to grow your business, it might be more detrimental in the long run. The customers you are targeting might have a bad experience instead. As easy as this might sound, opening an f&b business with a specific target market in mind may mean waiting out a lot longer.
So, who are your customers?
How you serve and how you portray your space changes how the customer engages with you. We are one of the first bars in Penang that does not have a TV. When we first started, naturally many of our customers asked why isn’t there a TV. Going back to our vision, we want people to have good conversations and a good drink. Having TVs would defeat this purpose. It took some time for people to understand this, but in time, they begin to appreciate what we offer.
What advice would you give someone who’s starting out for the first time?
If you think you can cook good food at home, don’t think it applies to a commercial kitchen. We need to be realistic about what are we jumping into and ask the following: what are the challenges we are facing, what is needed and what is your Plan b.
Many operators come in with a grand vision, and very quickly, it leads to; “I am not having enough sleep”, “Why are others cursing at me”, “Why are my staff leaving”, “Why is this so frustrating!”. Sounds familiar?
It does. Speaking about staffing, how do you make them stay?
Our retention rate is over 90%; most of them are here since Year 2. To keep people, make your team understand the reality of it and do not go too far with the fancy stuff.
We keep the team lean, simple and focused. We motivate our staff on long term growth, showing them that there is more to life than just money. Secondly, we are growing this business for the team. You need to create something that enables your staff to take ownership, taking it to the next level and let them make decisions. I try not to show up as much, and it is good to see that customers know my staff more than I do. They just need to be given the opportunity and let them have the opportunity.
We encourage them to guest shift at other bars, to go for competitions. All expenses are paid for by us. However, they have to prove and work hard for it.
This industry takes the life out of people. We try to look out for signs of burnout and have a program to regulate staff’s working hours and provide an environment that is as stress-free as possible.
Ben Ng, Mish Mash
How does Mish Mash stay on top?
Mish Mash does not operate on Penang standards. We work on global standards. Regardless of where in the world the team goes, they are ready to work behind the bar. Secondly, to stay on top, we need to be specific and also to respond fast enough. You never know how the market reacts, and we would need to make changes along the way. If you pay someone a sum of money to run your business, it will never work. If you genuinely journey through it by doing everything yourself, it gives you an understanding of the business itself. So, that was how we started in 2014. We started with whatever we have in our own pockets. There is a lot of trial and error involved, and much good luck along the way.
Was there a point where Mish Mash was on the verge of giving up? Also, how does your team navigate uncertainty?
Our sales have always been growing year on year. If your books are healthy, you do not need to panic. Try to understand what is going on in the market. We experienced a slight dip post-election (last May 2018), but this was a market condition. We were also not affected by the 20 over bars openings last year. In fact, this gives a good measure of what works and what does not.
The reason why I might decide to give up Mish Mash one day would be due to consumer’s dining etiquette. This is something that needs a lot more exposure and education in Malaysia! It is shocking at times, the amount of disrespect our staff have to face. The bashings are unnecessary. Basic mannerism is essential no matter how educated or wealthy you are. Culturally, we should start raising awareness of the work behind the bar or kitchen.
What do you deal with situations like this?
You need to put your foot down. Over the years, we strive to educate our customers by getting them to understand our procedures and how to treat staff with mutual respect. We put much effort into regulating this. For example, we will not allow eight people to be seated at a table meant for four, which some people may find perfectly fine but they’re unaware of the disruption it may cause to other customers. It is a long road ahead.
Did you ever feel like giving up?
At times, yes, especially when you are dealing with people. Then you learn to accept it as part and parcel of the job. It’s the same in other industries as well. I started off struggling, thinking, here I am serving people and only making this much of money, as compared to bankers or lawyers. However, this is also what I like to do! When it is not just about money, you will have the patience to build towards something. Good artists die poor, right?
The reason why I might decide to give up Mish Mash one day would be due to consumer’s dining etiquette. This is something that needs a lot more exposure and education in Malaysia!
Ben Ng, Mish Mash .
After five years, what do you think stayed the same for Mish Mash, and what needs to change?
The vibe will always be the same. However, when you are doing good, you cannot not change. What is continuously changing is how do we provide better service? Are we continuing to attract our target market? How do we draw the younger crowd? And of course, are we meeting your needs?
As an operator, you need to be able to read different groups of consumers with different localities. End of 2019 towards early 2020, we are opening another Mish Mash outside of Penang. This will definitely keep the team’s spirit up and explore different markets. After all, we built this business for the team to run.
-as told to STT. By Theresa Burhan
