Brick-Mortar-Cloud Podcast
Season 2 Episode 8:
From Bartender to Bar Owner: The Story Behind Hopscotch

Welcome to the Brick Mortar Cloud Podcast, where we share scaling stories of entrepreneurs in F&B and retail. This podcast is produced by StaffAny and Nila Studios. Today, I have Roger from Hopscotch joining us. Roger, welcome to the show.

Roger: Hello.

Welcome, welcome. Can you share a little bit more about your story and how you got into the F&B journey?

Roger: I started in 2012—about 12 or 13 years ago. I was still in army then, moonlighting. First stay-in, then stay-out. Nothing much to do, and that’s the age where you start drinking and exploring bars. I started working at a bar I liked as a customer. It’s called Bar Stories—they’re still around.

So you started in the bar side of F&B, cocktail making and all.

Roger: Yes. I was very interested in the craft. Bar Stories had no menu. You speak to customers, find out their flavour preferences, and craft a drink from there. Bar Stories is an institution—Haji Lane, bring dates there, great time.

Last season, Kai from Scaled was on the show talking about Kelong produce working with bars. For you, when did you take your first foray into opening your own?

Roger: I didn’t start with a brick-and-mortar concept. We started with events bartending. It happened by chance—my manager had a friend who needed drinks for a party. We went, made bespoke cocktails, and then guests asked for our name card. But we didn’t even have a company—just gave my number. The following week someone called, and we got another event. That’s how we started.

There weren’t many cocktail catering services at that time—plenty of food caterers, but not beverage caterers. So we built a niche.

And your first brick-and-mortar?

Roger: That came from opportunity too. One of our clients, a high-net-worth individual who owned a hotel, asked if we wanted to run the bar. I was maybe 18, told him upfront we had no money. He said, “Don’t worry, just occupy the space.” Couldn’t say no.

Amazing. So when was the first permanent outlet?

Roger: The first was called Mars Bar—named after my co-founder Mike and myself: Mike and Roger’s Bar. A bit lame, but it worked. Then a landlord at Maxwell offered a pop-up space at the Red Dot Museum. That became the first Hopscotch.

Why the name Hopscotch? What was the vision?

Roger: Back then, the cocktail scene was picking up. Many Japanese- or Western-inspired bars, but none representing Singaporean flavours. So we thought: kaya drinks, chilli crab drinks. A uniquely Singaporean cocktail concept.

For the name, we wanted people to feel carefree—like playing hopscotch in primary school. Fun, nostalgic, light-hearted.

Fun question: is there a hopscotch at the venue?

Roger: Not permanently, but sometimes during anniversaries, yes. We force people to play!

Now your outlets are in Capitol and Gardens by the Bay. How’s business and what’s next?

Roger: Can’t complain—we’re still alive. I’m fortunate to have trustworthy partners and managers who’ve been with us for years.

The market is unpredictable—COVID one moment, then opportunities appear suddenly. Our Capitol outlet came from chance too.

Is the business very different between Capitol and Gardens?

Roger: Very. Capitol is 95% local. Gardens is 60–70% tourists. And Gardens became a strong events venue—we set up projector, screens, mics. Now events form about 20% of our sales there.

When IMDA does Digital Leaders Program, they always host at your Gardens outlet.

Roger: I suspect we’re the cheaper alternative to MBS! But cheaper doesn’t mean worse—maybe better.

For marketing, do you need different strategies for two different customer groups?

Roger: We don’t overly segment because our team is lean. Marketing is handled by my girlfriend and one teammate—last time it was just her. It’s a lot of work. But I’m proud of what they’ve built; our branding and marketing have been great.

You mentioned a new concept launching in September?

Roger: Yes. A friend told me about a space at Far East Square. I thought he was just being a property agent friend, but the space was genuinely good. Lunchtime footfall is high. I took the space before fully deciding the concept—though I had some ideas: burgers, takeaway ramen, and finally, quick-service handrolls.

The brand is called Onori, launching mid-September.

Looking forward!
You mentioned DIY renovations—tell us about that.

Roger: We DIY all our bars. Since our first outlet at Maxwell, we built our own bar counters, did our own carpentry. We bought wood from Mandai, measured, cut, screwed everything ourselves.

We used PowerPoint to draw our floor plans. PowerPoint scales accurately! Saved a lot of money. Our first Hopscotch renovation cost $35,000—including inventory. We were drinks-only back then, so no kitchen equipment.

We chose an industrial theme—mistakes can pass off as design features!

We even built wall lights from leftover copper pipes. It saved a lot of money and built team ownership—managers help to build their own space.

Let’s talk business model. How is Hopscotch’s model different from other bars?

Roger: Food and drinks are about 50–50. For drinks, we specialise in craft cocktails with Singaporean twists. Over 11 years, we’ve changed the menu seven times. We turn anything Singaporean into a drink: chilli crab, chicken rice, Milo.

How do you make chicken rice cocktails?

Roger: We infused sesame oil into gin, fat-washed it, mixed with cucumber. Then wrapped the glass in chicken-rice-style brown paper. It works.

What’s your cost structure like? People say drinks have the best margins.

Roger: Our cocktails cost anywhere from $3.50 to $10 in ingredients. We price them at $22–25. But effort is the real cost. Some drinks require hours of prep: mooncakes, waffles, etc. Labor cost is high.

Labor costs around 30% for us. COGS, labor, rent—those are the big ones.

When we were at Maxwell selling only drinks, it was tough. Adding food helped diversify revenue and build stability.

What about team operations?

Roger: All managers are internally promoted. Retention is built through involvement. We work alongside our team—washing glasses, explaining cocktails, fixing taps.

Recently I fixed a wobbly tap that had been like that for two months. If I can do it, the team can too.

That’s servant leadership. I used to run a bar too—Sticky Fingers. I also cleaned toilets and everything.

Roger: Yes, that reminds me—sometimes you have to literally put your hand into the toilet bowl to scrub if the brush doesn’t work. Gloves on, let’s do it together.

How do you split work between partners?

Roger: There are four of us.

• I handle admin and finance (I studied accounting) and also operations.

• One partner handles kitchen operations—he used to bartend with me, then became a chef.

• One runs events—he’s the charming salesman.

• One runs our digital marketing agency.

And you also have the Peranakan concept. What’s the synergy?

Roger: Peranakan is Singaporean, so flavour inspiration translates well. But it’s harder because the flavours are more specific. We’re not traditional Peranakans with grandma recipes—we just love the cuisine and modernize it.

Why choose locations that are a bit fringe?

Roger: Singaporeans will travel for good food. If your concept is niche and strong, you can choose cheaper or fringe areas.

Why expand into food concepts beyond bars?

Roger: Simple—people must eat; they don’t have to drink. Alcohol consumption has declined since mid-last year. We wanted to diversify, not put all eggs into one basket. For lunch crowds, concepts under $20 do well.

What are you spending your time on now?

Roger: I’m half engineer now. Used to plan with PowerPoint. Now shopping malls require technical drawings—so I learned AutoCAD and SketchUp. I love learning deeply.

What digital transformations have helped you scale?

Roger:

1. QR Ordering – We resisted it for years because bar experience matters. But manpower shortages forced us to adopt it as an option, not a requirement.

2. Reservation System – We used to write reservations in a physical book, then Google Sheets. Recently we moved to BistroChat, which consolidates reservation sources and uses AI to pick up calls and manage bookings. Highly recommend.

If a startup founder asked what problem to solve for you, what would it be?

Roger: Marketing.
Finding viral content ideas is hard. A tool that generates trend-based ideas and executes would be a game changer. I think something like that will exist next year.

Any tech predictions for F&B?

Roger: Data analytics—what customers buy together, how to push certain items, CRM. We plan to adopt that next.

Now quick fire round:

Someone you follow?
McDonald’s, Ray Kroc.

Advice you wish you had before opening Hopscotch?
Learn to rely on people more.

If your kid wanted to join F&B?
I’d welcome them.

Your go-to food and drink?
Fish & chips.
For Chug Chucky: the banchan sampler set, lots of variety.
Drink: Negroni, always.

How to follow you?
Instagram: @hopscotchsg

Would you offer a mentorship cocktail session to aspiring F&B entrepreneurs?
Definitely.

Final thoughts:

This was one of my favourite episodes. I learned a lot, especially about DIY renovation as a tool for cost control and team ownership. It’s not just about money; it’s about culture. I’m inspired to also build furniture with my team next time we move office.

Thank you, Roger.