A Hipster Cafe Has Opened Within Holland V’s Nostalgic Thambi Magazine Store

Some folks will recall that before 8days.sg went online, it used to be a weekly print magazine. Periathambi ‘Sam’ Senthilmurugan, 47, remembers it very well. As the third-generation owner of the homegrown Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village, he used to sell “a few hundred copies” of 8 Days every week.

“I still have people coming in now asking to buy 8 Days and i-Weekly [8 Days’ Chinese language sister title],” says Sam. “I told them, ‘Online already lah’. They said, ‘Aiyoh, why everything online?’”

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Photo: Pyron Tan

Despite the current age of digitisation, he is still presiding over his old-school trade: Hawking newspapers and magazines at his open-air roadside newsstand along Lorong Liput. Started by Sam’s grandfather in the ’40s, Thambi (which means ‘brother’ in Tamil) has become a Holland V icon and popular meeting spot. “I have my whole family helping me lah, or else I cannot run the show. The store keeps our family together,” Sam shares humbly.

Sam works with his sister I. Sivajothi and sister-in-law G. Arunmathi at their family-run newsstand. (Photo: Pyron Tan)

Thambi’s money changer closed during the pandemic 

At the peak of the print industry’s popularity, Sam carried as many as 7,000 titles, though that has since shrunk to a still respectable 1,000 these days. “A lot of publishers closed shop during Covid-19 and they aren’t coming back. There was also no transport [while borders were closed], so no magazines from overseas were coming in,” he notes.

The money changer that had been subletting Thambi’s shop space since 2003 also closed last year, due to a lack of travellers. Suddenly Sam had extra space in his store, which he was renting from a landlord. “All along I had this idea, then there was an opportunity,” he says.

For a long time, he had been telling his friends about his plan to set up a takeaway teh tarik kiosk within his magazine store. He envisioned customers buying a beverage and staying to browse his wares, which would boost his sales. “I was thinking, one business can complement the other,” Sam explains.

Photo: Yip Jieying

But Sam’s friends dissuaded him. “They advised me not to go for it. People usually want to sit and drink teh tarik. They don’t like to tapow, so a takeaway concept for teh tarik and magazines might not work,” recalls Sam.

He also alludes to a concern about the feasibility of selling teh tarik - a wallet-friendly drink that sellers typically charge around $1 for - in a prime rental spot like Thambi. “You can’t price teh tarik too high,” Sam reasons. He eventually concludes: “It was not worth the risk. There were a lot of questions on my mind. I don’t want to start something at the wrong time.”

Photo: Pyron Tan

After the money changer moved out, Sam was unexpectedly approached by a man named William Brodie. The 42-year-old Malaysian-born, who hails from Miri, Sarawak and has Chinese-Scottish heritage, had left his job as a bar manager at Mount Faber’s Arbora Hilltop Garden & Bistro and was looking to start his own business.

Photo: Yip Jieying

A hipster cafe in an old-school magazine store

William (pictured above) chanced upon Thambi’s vacant money changer unit, which had robust foot traffic and a quaint charm. He ended up subletting the space from Sam for his own cheery little takeaway cafe called Caffeine Xpress. “I didn’t want to start with a space that was too big, so this was a good place,” he says.

While he has bartending experience and considered turning his cafe into a bar by night, William eventually shelved that idea due to a lack of space. His hole-in-the-wall kiosk now serves a small selection of artisanal coffee, which William brews on a professional espresso maker using nutty medium roast beans from local brand Six Four Coffee. 
 

Photo: Yip Jieying

His prices are slightly lower than the nearby Tiong Bahru Bakery and % Arabica at Chip Bee Gardens, starting from $3 for a cup of Espresso. There’s also a Long Black ($3 for 8oz/ $4 for 12oz & iced), White Coffee ($4 for 8oz/ $5.50 for 12oz & iced) and a Sweet White ($4.50 for 8oz/ $6 for 12oz & iced) infused with caramel or mocha syrup.

Photo: Yip Jieying

For non-caffeinated options, there is Matcha ($4 for 8oz/ $5.50 for 12oz & iced) and Chocolate ($4 for 8oz/ $5.50 for 12oz & iced). A little sign advertised Dalgona Coffee ($6). William offers it as a milky coffee topped with jagged pieces of dalgona (Korean caramelised sugar candy) — much nicer than the homemade one we struggled with making during the Covid-19 circuit breaker.

Photo: Yip Jieying

The space (or lack thereof)

Despite Caffeine Xpress being a takeaway kiosk, William kindly let us dine in at his two-seat counter when we dropped by as anonymous customers. Other than coffee, he also stocks some light bites like salmon mayo and chicken Banh Mi ($6.50 each) and desserts like a decent Lemon Meringue Pie ($4.50), all made by his professional chef brother.

Photo: Yip Jieying

William jazzes up our gigantic banh mi (good for two small eaters) with fresh coriander upon ordering, but the sarnie unfortunately suffers from its stint sitting in the glass chiller.

Still, it would be unrealistic to expect banh mi assembled a la minute in the cafe’s extremely cramped digs. Perhaps ready-made pastries or more cakes would work for the space constraint, we think. Or dare we hope… Teh sarbat tarik a la Kampong Glam’s famed Bhai Sarbat stall, curry puffs and other snack delights from William’s Sarawak hometown?

Photo: Yip Jieying

While Sam’s friends predicted a lack of demand for takeaway teh tarik, Sam rationalised that gourmet coffee - cuppas which are often bought to be sipped on the go - would be a bigger draw for the Holland V crowd.

He shares that Caffeine Xpress is helping his sales as the affable William builds up a pool of neighbourhood regulars. “When customers are waiting for their coffee, they look around outside and browse magazines. Or they come to buy magazines and get coffee,” he says.

Business is picking up for Sam, as he sees more youngsters dropping by to buy magazines. “It’s not like those days in the ’90s, but after Covid it’s better now. The percentage of local [customers] is higher than expats,” he says.

Photo: Pyron Tan

Since travel has resumed, Sam has also seized the opportunity to bring the money changer back. He has already allocated space and set up a money changer counter at the other end of his store. “But it’s still not occupied. We’re waiting for people to come in,” he says. “Once the money changer comes in, it will add to our store.”

Caffeine Xpress, #01-K4 Holland Road Shopping Centre (beside Thambi Magazine Store), 211 Holland Rd, S278967. Open daily, Mon-Sat 8am-6pm; Sun 9am-6pm. www.facebook.com/caffeinexpress.