Wee Teng Wen: Building the Singapore story
The co-founder of Lo & Behold looks back on almost two decades of shaping the local lifestyle scene, and how it culminated into his biggest project yet – turning the former Nan Chiau High School into the brand new, New Bahru
HUEVOS MAKES THE BEST FISH tacos. One Fattened Calf makes really good burgers. You can get your Nylon Coffee Roasters fix at Dearborn Granola and not have to trek to Everton Park. And how does Geylang’s Teochew raw crab specialist San Shu Gong fit into this indie mix?
“I really like the food there,” says Wee Teng Wen, almost sheepishly.
If the managing partner of hospitality group Lo & Behold hadn’t just created New Bahru as Singapore’s most ambitious, ground-breaking lifestyle enclave ever, you would think he just wanted an excuse to put all his favourite F&B under one roof.
Sign-off power as landlord of the roughly 20,000 square metre Kim Yam Road development – with some 40 tenants breathing new life into the former Nan Chiau High School – has its privileges. But it also attests to where Wee’s priorities lie: creating an ecosystem for home-grown brands to flourish collectively where they might not on their own, out in a commercial marketplace where lessors want profit, not mission statements.
Wee and his team cherry-picked the F&B, retail and lifestyle/enrichment occupants that make up New Bahru, which is still opening in stages. But it is already the talk of the town, drawing the hungry and the curious to this River Valley playground where Brutalist architecture and scuffed badminton courts seem totally in sync with shops selling baby clothes, plants and coffee machines. There isn’t a foreign brand in sight and that’s why the crowds are there – because of New Bahru’s intrinsic Singaporean-ness.
And that is the whole idea. Wee is betting the over-S$25 million it’s costing to refurbish this 70s era site on his belief that local will be the new global.
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Championing local
Creative community. Singaporean talent. Homegrown brands. Human experiences. Story-telling. These terms pop up a lot in Wee’s vocabulary, and seem to drive the 44-year-old, almost-accidental lifestyle entrepreneur who opened a rooftop bar in 2005 and hasn’t looked back since.
That bar was Loof in Odeon Towers, now gone after the building it was in was demolished. But in its heyday, it earned international buzz as one of the hottest bars in town with a distinctive Singaporean flavour (“loof” being Singaporean patois for “roof”).
Loof remains “closest to my heart”, says Wee. “On a personal level, it was what enabled me to find my calling. I’m especially proud of how Loof resonated locally. It was a celebration of the very idiosyncrasies that make (Singaporeans) who we are, and became a catalyst for supporting (all things) local.”
It also helped that Loof’s success was pivotal to growing Lo & Behold as a business, despite Wee’s lack of F&B experience at the age of 25. “We’re lucky that we started with a bar, in an era where there was room to make so many beginner mistakes and still be a successful business.”
Beginner’s luck or not, Wee would grow Lo & Behold into one of Singapore’s most influential lifestyle groups credited with raising the bar in the local F&B scene. Its most successful concept to date has been the three-Michelin-starred Odette, and others include White Rabbit, OverEasy, Black Swan, Tanjong Beach Club, Esora, Straits Clan and Warehouse Hotel. More recent ones include Le Bon Funk, The Coconut Club and Fico. Wee also earned the accolade of Outstanding Tourism Entrepreneur in the 2017 Singapore Tourism Awards.
Setting trends
Several operations have closed down or changed hands over the years, but the group has always been known for its knack of tapping the prevailing zeitgeist, whether people were aware of it or not.
“By having a voracious appetite for experiential ideas locally and internationally, you develop an instinct for what people want, where they want it and how they want to feel when they experience it,” explains Wee. “Ultimately though, it’s still about trusting your gut.”
The popular Tanjong Beach Club, for example, “was born from the desire to foster a vibrant beach culture in an island city that didn’t have one at the time (2010),” he says. “It was crazy to think that despite us all living on an island, we often don’t live an ‘island life’.”
And its Italian eatery Fico came about because “amidst the chaos of the modern world and perpetual rat race, burnout is imminent”. Its laid-back East Coast Park locale and “farmhouse” setting “advocates living better, not faster”.
Creative process
Wee cites a three-pronged approach when embarking on a new project – “the intersection between space, concept and talent”.
He says: “Falling in love with a space is often the starting point, whether it’s the beautiful coastline on a secluded end of East Coast Park (Fico); a historic godown along the Singapore River (Warehouse Hotel); or an Ebenezer chapel built in the 1930s (White Rabbit). We’ve always been drawn to spaces with rich stories to tell, or interesting locations to discover.”
He describes the process as “one part art, one part science, and the most part – ‘secret sauce’”. It’s about crafting a compelling story and finding the right talent and partners with the same vision.
It’s also clear that Wee is particularly taken with heritage buildings.
“Taking over old buildings and breathing new life into them is something I feel very passionately about, especially given the rate at which our recent-built heritage is often torn down and replaced by shiny new towers. There is something amazing about how interesting architecture and creative businesses can come together to create a meaningful place.”
Building the Singapore brand
As a successful F&B and hospitality operator, Lo & Behold has grown to the extent where the next logical step might be to expand overseas. But Wee shows little interest at the moment, seeing a need to boost the image of Singapore brands among Singaporeans who place more value on shiny foreign imports.
“We’ve seen an incredible amount of talent emerging from our shores and the region but we remain dwarfed by our international counterparts. The challenges remain as homegrown brands are dispersed, with many under the radar. And in commercial malls, prime locations are dominated by the same permutations of chains.”
He believes New Bahru is part of the solution. However, he’s excited at the thought of bringing a slice of Singapore abroad, and “after 20 years of building in Singapore, perhaps we are finally ready”.
Life’s lessons
Wee wears no rose-tinted glasses when it comes to success in the industry as “experience and a proven track record are no guarantee”. He adds: “As the saying goes, you are only as good as your last project – this keeps us on our toes.”
He’s also learned the hard way how important a strong culture is for any organisation. In the group’s first six years when they were focused on growing the business, taking care of people was hardly a priority. “That unfortunately led to a splintered organisation fuelled by individualistic behaviour and a lack of structure.”
They’ve since doubled down on building a strong group culture, and while he feels his own leadership is a work in progress, “we are trying to build an organisation that is highly aligned, loosely coupled”.
The corporate-speak belies the nearly 20 years since the 25-year-old with “youthful naivete, scrappiness and optimism” embarked on his life-changing journey. He never expected to be where he is today, “but that’s the beauty of life and how things unfold”, he says. “This journey has given me the opportunity to lean into a wide range of my passions and interests across food, culture-building, design, and place-making. The satisfaction that comes from growing for, and with, the Singapore scene has been incredible. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
If there are any regrets, the closest would be the closure of Loof, “which was especially bitter”, he acknowledges. “I was hoping it would outlive us all. Before it closed, I managed to take my daughter there and recounted the story of our origin and early days.
“On the one hand, I consider plotting its comeback on a new roof. On the other hand, I wonder if we can ever do anything as special and meaningful. It was a moment in time.”
But his sense of mission remains strong as ever.
“Singapore is a young, small and outward-looking country, so it’s even more pressing to champion local stories, shine a light on our talent, and show that there are many different sides to this little island. If not us, then who?”
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