Interview with Leroy Zhong of Bon Soir – Dark Dining
March 21, 2010 by Gwendolyn Regina T
With the competition to gain The Ultimate Start-Up Space by Martell VSOP still underway, we catch up with the top 10 finalists of the challenge to find out more about their ideas and the drive behind them. First, we got Leroy Zhong of “Bon Soir – Dark Dining” to share his thoughts.
(For a quick overview of the prizes the ultimate winner stands to gain, read this.)
Describe your idea and how you think it stands out from all the finalists.
Our idea for the shop space is to have a fine-dining restaurant with a completely pitch-dark environment. The visually handicapped will be hired as professional servers and guides, and they will get a chance to be on the front line of the service industry. “Bon Soir – Dark Dining” stands in its own league by having a subtle focus on food appreciation; Clarke Quay is after all a place for wining and dining.
The concept will present a strong “wow” factor that’s going to be the talk of the town, drawing curious diners. People will be here for the experience, and unknowingly, they’ll be savoring fine quality cuisine without the distraction of watches, cell phones etc.
The differentiation in “Bon Soir – Dark Dining” will bring a lot of first-timers; the emphasis on our food palate will ensure sustainability as good food is what brings customers back.
[View their 60-second video submission for TUSS.]
How did you come up with this idea? Did you already have this idea before hearing about this competition?
We lingered with the thought of coming up with a themed restaurant before the competition. Given more thought, and the experience in my family’s business in F&B, I recognized the importance and priority of good food for an F&B set-up’s sustainability.
Therefore taking away all visual distractions and prejudices of food presentation became the natural way to go about a themed restaurant with the right focus.
Why do you think you should win the top prize for The Ultimate Start-Up Space?
First of all, we have impact.
The competitive landscape in Singapore is unique. There are 5 million people living on a small area here and this might seem like a B2C opportunities-galore. But don’t forget, for every demand, there are 3 businesses competing for it. Therefore finding a unique selling point (USP) in the Singapore market has become more important than any other market.
“Bon Soir – Dark Dining” aims to do exactly that, and we are careful in avoiding stepping over the thin line to appear as an absurd concept, by being diligently different. That is, to subtly align to the right priorities in food quality and business turnover in the F&B industry, and yet presenting a huge draw to customers with our USP.
Another reason why my team should win is that we are entrepreneurial, understand customer demand and most importantly for a F&B business, appreciate good food.
Tell us your/your team’s background and what you are doing now.
I have always been an entrepreneur at heart. At the age of 22, I set up an events company and in just over a month, made $8,000 in profit helping school clubs with their events and shows. Following, to further my understanding in doing business, I took up an entrepreneurship minor in university.
Currently, I am doing business development for a research organization with more than 2000 staff. My role is to make commercial sense out of the company’s research results.
My partner, Boon Ng, is my colleague and he is well versed in managing the finance for companies. To back it up, he has 2 MBAs, another Masters degree and a bachelor’s degree.
Boon Ng.
If you win, tell us your plan moving forward to turn your idea into reality. And would executing this idea be a full-time commitment on your team’s part?
Everything’s going to go according to the business plan should we win. That is why we are factually substantiating every detail in the business plan so that upon winning, we will be ready to operate at the get-go.
“Bon Soir – Dark Dining” is definitely going to be a full-time commitment. As for all start-ups, we know that it is important for entrepreneurs to be on the ground to ensure every facet of the business is taken care of.
If you don’t, what are your plans then?
We believe in the idea, and our investors believe in us. Therefore winning or losing is just a matter of whether the concept is going to materialize in Clarke Quay, or somewhere else.
The next step in not winning would be to select the right investors and an alternative location.
Do you think the space offered at Clarke Quay by Martell VSOP is a differentiating factor for your idea’s success? Why or why not?
Most definitely. Clarke Quay offers huge visibility for “Bon Soir – Dark Dining” with its central location. On top of that, the crowd that stream by the shop space is exactly who we’re targeting: tourists, the lifestyle market, executives etc.
Then again, without the shop space at Clarke Quay, we can still be sustainable with proper marketing and finding the next best location.
Thanks, Leroy. Good luck in the competition!
Bon Soir – Dark Dining can be found on Facebook. You can also check out his radio interview.
Read: 8 Tips to Setting Up Your Food and Beverage Business in Singapore
Check out all our interviews with the TUSS finalists:
Bon Soir – Dark Dining All Things Green And Beautiful The Chupitos Bar Amnesia Hemeryx OliveScreens YOUnique The Chocolate Museum
About The Author
Gwendolyn Regina T - Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Apart from SGE, Gwen is also a Partner at Thymos Capital, where she focuses on early stage investments in technology firms. She has had two exits out of her investments via the firm, one of which is iHipo. A frequent judge for business competitions both locally and overseas, she graduated from the National University of Singapore. Gwen also spent some time in Silicon Valley and studied in Stanford University under the NUS Overseas College programme. Gwen is a mentor at Spanish incubator Tetuan Valley, Polish incubator Gamma Rebels, the Singapore Ambassador for the Sandbox network and the Singapore curator for StartupDigest. She enjoys languages, travelling, dance and adventure sports. Gwen can be found on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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