Running a business is never easy, but it becomes an even greater challenge when the God you have always trusted for guidance suddenly goes quiet. Christian business owner Suzanne Chee shares how the difficulties she faced opening Jjan Korean Fusion Bar at Suntec City Mall resulted ultimately in a deeper trust in God.
“Jjan!” is what Koreans say when making a toast before they down their beers. Jjan Korean Fusion Bar at Suntec City Mall gives off the perfect vibe as a place to enjoy that drink with friends.
Set on the ground floor outside Suntec Tower 3, this no fuss al-fresco bar serves a wide variety of alcohol, from whiskies and wines to beers and, of course, the Korean must-drink, soju. If you have watched enough K-dramas, you would know that you can’t have a drink without something to munch on. Besides dishing up bar bites like its Signature Fried Chicken ($15 for a small and $26 for large), Jjan also serves a wide range of main dishes. If you’re feeling like Korean, you might go for some ramyeon ($11.50 to $14) or their Korean Army Stew ($16). If you prefer conventional bar food, their range of pizzas ($15.50 to $18) and burgers ($18.50) should hit the spot.
On some evenings, live bands play sets from 7.30pm. For a chill evening out for drinks and live music under the night sky, Jjan’s the place to go.
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
Given its relaxed atmosphere, it’s hard to imagine that the road to making Jjan happen in this ideal spot was something of a nightmare for owner Suzanne Chee, a City Harvest Church member. Before entering into the food and beverage line, she supported her son Elijah’s businesses, including the now-defunct MyBox, a popular basement shop at Scape that was an early adopter in the rental-box concept business. Suzanne also served for many years as a Harvest Kidz volunteer.
The brains behind Jjan Korean Fusion Bar, Suzanne opened the bar in Scape in 2019, where it served Gen Z crowd that frequented the area. The eatery did well and by the grace of God, managed to survive the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. While Covid affected business badly, Suzanne remained grateful to God that they generated enough income to keep the business going.
When the safe distancing measures appeared to be winding down in late 2021, Suzanne felt it was time to revamp the bar, and she started toying with the idea of opening a second branch.
After shopping around the Central Business District for an affordable space, Suzanne chanced upon an opportunity to become a shareholder of a bar in Suntec City. She had always thought that the rental in Suntec City was beyond her budget and before this, had never considered setting up shop in the popular mall.
That deal fell through, but the idea of having her own watering hole in Suntec City grew. As she continued to search for a new space, Suzanne heard of another opening in the mall.
Even though she was initially unimpressed with the space, Suzanne found herself thinking about it continually in the weeks following her visit. She decided to start negotiations with Suntec City’s management. Being a business owner who believes in not making any decisions without God, she prayed about the deal, but God was silent.
“I told God that if the place is not for me, let someone else take it, so that I won’t even have to make an offer,” she recalls.
Little did she know that the negotiations would turn into a long and agonising process. On hindsight, Suzanne now realises that God used this experience to lead her on a journey of transformation.
At one point, when Suntec City rejected her offer, Suzanne was disappointment, and chose to bring it to the Lord. “I asked Him to take away my disappointment, I didn’t want to become bitter with Him over this issue,” she says. She soon found peace in her heart.
A month later, Suntec City contacted Suzanne and offered her the space at a price much closer to her budget. “I was secretly happy, but I was also afraid that this was not something from God but a temptation,” she admits. She prayed earnestly but again, there was no clear answer from God. Nevertheless, by faith, she eventually signed the lease agreement in March 2021.
“At that time, we were still planning for this to be our second outlet,” Suzanne shares. “The whole idea was for Jjan at Scape to be young and trendy, while this outlet would be more grown-up and cater to the crowd in CBD.”
From bar bites to Korean main dishes and pizzas, Jjan has the perfect menu for friends who get together for a drink
However, her relief was short-lived. On the day she received the keys to her new shop space, the government announced the implementation of additional restrictions to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. In one fell swoop, her renovation works were delayed, affecting the bar’s operation and revenue.
Jjan’s opening was delayed for five long months. At the same time, business at Scape was affected by the tightened safety measures.
It was one of the toughest seasons Suzanne had to go through as a Christian and a business owner. A worrier by nature, Suzanne agonised over having to pay rent on both outlets and the salaries of her staff at Scape. “Every night, I cried buckets—I couldn’t sleep. When I slept, I would be awakened by all the stress,” she recounts.
But God showed her that He was still in control. “Every time I reached the point of giving up, unexpected funds would come in and take care of all the costs,” she says. “It could only be God—nobody can explain this. I know that God is a ‘just-in-time’ God.”
God’s grace never failed her, even when Suzanne hit another dead end. In December 2021, she received news from Scape that the mall would be undergoing renovation and Jjan was forced to move out. The bar had now lost its only source of income.
Jjan offers live music in the evenings
Over at Suntec City, the unit was ready for operation, but Suzanne was still awaiting the bar licence. That was when a health officer, who came to inspect her shop, gave her an idea. “He suggested that instead of applying for a licence to operate as a bar, I could apply to operate as a restaurant with an alcohol licence,” Suzanne says. The only difference would be that Jjan could only operate until 10.30pm. “I was skeptical at first but after checking with the Urban Redevelopment Agency, I realised it could be done.”
While the process to reapply for the new licence was another hoop to jump through, Suzanne finally received some good news. Suntec City called her on a Sunday to let her know that she could start operating in 24 hours. The problem was it was virtually impossible to have supplies delivered to her at such short notice on a weekend.
Again, the grace of God came through for her. “My suppliers were very nice. Because it was the weekend, the delivery transport was not available. But they told me, ‘Sister, I hand carry down for you.’” Amazingly, Suzanne managed to pull together enough resources to open Jjan the very next day.
The ordeal, however, was not over. The initial days of business at Suntec City were slow because the offices in the vicinity were mostly still empty since the majority of businesses were operating on a work-from-home basis. The income Jjan made monthly could barely cover the utility bill.
In April 2022, the government finally announced that the F&B outlets could operate at full capacity again. After nine months of suffering losses, business began to pick up. Jjan saw an inflow of customers who claimed that their friends had recommended the bar to them. “We even had reputable chefs and food critics visiting us and offering to write reviews for us without us asking them, and without receiving any payment,” she says, declaring it was all the provision of God.
Because of Jjan’s excellent location, there were suppliers who came to Suzanne, offering to hold events to create sales and increase awareness of the bar. “They also offered to co-fund some initiatives with us,” she says.
WALKING THROUGH THE DARK NIGHT TO KNOW GOD’S HEART
Having come out of that trying season, Suzanne can now see that God has been with her all along. But she admits that in those dark days, she found it very hard to trust Him. “I could not see any sign—it was a tunnel of endless darkness. I came to the point where I couldn’t even trust myself—how was I to trust God?”
Looking back, Suzanne could see that things happened for a reason. The first four months of running the bar was a time for her team to adjust to serving the clientele in Suntec City, who were vastly different from those at Scape. Because there were fewer diners to manage during the pandemic, the staff had more room to learn.
The tough journey to setting up Jjan at Suntec has birthed in Suzanne a deeper trust in God
“I’m grateful for His faithfulness because time and again when I lost faith, He never gave up on me. It’s been tough, but we are very thankful that even when we gave up, He didn’t. When we tapped out, He didn’t,” Suzanne shares.
Jjan has also become a place where Suzanne is able to share about God. “We have a group of new customers who have become our regulars. Once when we were chatting, the subject of God came up. We quickly realised that among them were some long-time Christians who had stopped going to their church because of disappointment,” she shares. “We had the opportunity to befriend them and we were able to talk to them about God. Recently, we found out that a few of them have started returning to church. They told us that they can feel peace and joy in Jjan. It’s encouraging to know that even in the midst of struggles, we can still share God’s goodness. We feel very blessed.”
Suzanne feels she has climbed up to a new level with the Lord. “God taught me a very precious lesson. It’s very easy to say, ‘When you don’t see the hands of God, trust His heart. When you are faithless, He is faithful’. This journey of bringing Jjan to Suntec taught me what it means to actually trust His heart. Now I truly understand that when I don’t hear His voice, I can really trust that He has not forsaken me.”
Jjan Korean Fusion Bar is located at 3 Temasek Boulevard, #01-606/607, Suntec Tower 3, Singapore 038983
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL CHAN
