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Still packed to the max after two and a half years in
business, and now recipient of a prestigious tourism award, China Jump is the envy of many
a nightspot.
Many a nightspot owner would drool at the idea: snaking
queues persisting almost two and a half years after opening. That in the face of keen
competition in Singapore's nightlife scene and it is an enviable achievement.
For China Jump Bar and Grill, this is a pleasant
"problem" that it experiences at least three times a week, on Wednesday's Babe
Central night as well as on Fridays and Saturdays.
Colloquially, it is referred to as the "happenin"
place at Chijmes, and many see it as the anchor tenant at this restored Victorian landmark
on Victoria Street.
Few would be surprised that it bagged the Nightspot of the
Year in the Singapore Tourism Board's Tourism Awards 1999. Mr. Clark Martin, China Jump's
operations director, says its success can be attributed to a combination of three features
- good customer experience, good value for money and a good product which includes
palate-teasing and liberal American-sized meal portions of American, Mexican and European
cuisine plus retro music.
"That is what keeps them coming back," he said.
"As they walk out the door, they are leaving with an experience."
And this "experience" has much to do with the
choice of music - a mix of retro 60's, 70's and 80's music with a dash of the 90's and
motivated staff.
"Before we set up, we spent months researching what
would be the right music for the Singapore market," he said. "We have a very
stringent music policy."
As for staff, China Jump believes they have to be
well-trained, well-rewarded, provided with a career, and given licence to be spontaneous.
The more money China Jump makes, the more they get.
But money - the bonus plus percentage of sales they receive
- is not the only incentive for the staff, most of whom have been with the nightspot since
it began.
"More importantly, we provide them with training and
goals to achieve. They have a sense of ownership in the place," said Mr. Martin.
There is a training manual for just about everything that
the nightspot does - from the food, to knowledge of drinks, the door and how to train a
trainer.
Add to this recipe the flexibility and impossible-to-fail
choice of music that China Jump offers, and you have a winning formula.
Flexibility comes in the form of three features: the bar,
restaurant and disco, and the mood changes through the night. The evening starts off with
mellow music with a slow tempo while families, the office crowd, young couples and
tourists dine. As they round off their meals, the tempo rises when the party crowd takes
over.
Sunday offers a different scene with late breakfast from
11am to 2pm and more food fare in the afternoon.
Even a winning formula has to be refreshed with innovation,
and China Jump's ability to constantly update itself has helped it to become a pacesetter.
Its Babe Central or Ladies' night every Wednesday offers the fairer sex not only free
entry but free house pours all the way from 9:30pm to 3am.
Other joints that have tried to cash in on their ladies'
night often find it difficult to match the five and a half hours of free flow offered by
China Jump.
Specials Galore
Smooch every Thursday: Guests
pucker up and kiss someone, anyone, while a Polaroid snapshot is taken. When presented at
the bar, the snapshot gets the couple 50 per cent off drinks all night.
The "hugely popular" Dentists Chair: Even serious
chief executive officers have been seen having tequila and lime juice poured down their
throats until they "surrender".
The flair shown by bartenders like Fifi, who uses his hours
behind the bar and a lot more time off-duty practicing, has a following all his own.
China Jump, which was first set up in HongKong, is working
on expanding with a second outlet in Singapore.
Beyond Singapore, it has plans for an outlet in India and
later make further inroads into South-east Asia. |
