Not many are aware of the fact that the little nook in between Orchard Emerald and Centrepoint belongs to a sole company and makes up the Peranakan Place Complex.

Sadly closed, Rouge was once the new chic place in town. BarmanGuide spoke with Yung Ong and Kelly Khoo, the directors of the place to fill you in on the inner workings of Rouge and how they managed the running of the wild child.

BarmanGuide: What makes up Peranakan Place Complex?

Kelly: There's Rouge upstairs, there is Alley Bar where we are at right now, there's Acid Bar next door and there's Pre Rouge, the bistro outside and of course we also manage the tenants that you see flanking Orchard Road, that row of shop houses and Rouge is the latest addition.

Yung: The same management has been running the company for about 16 years now; we run the whole building as well as the tenants in front of the building.

Kelly: I don't think the average consumers are very aware of the fact that Peranakan Place itself is really what it is - an entirety. They tend to think of Alley Bar as a solo operation, Acid Bar as a solo operation.

BarmanGuide: So, how did Rouge come about?

Kelly: Actually the place itself has a legacy and again, before Rouge, there were a couple of like clubs in its place so Rouge was just like the next step in the evolution of the complex itself.

Yung: Every outlet usually has a certain life-span so once it hits the end of the life-span, you can see interest waning, that's when we decide that we need to change our direction and bring a different offering to customers.

Kelly: And also to keep in line with the times as well. Through our own observations, our own studies on what the market needs, what the market requires, we try our best to fulfill those needs within the night life arena.

BarmanGuide: It takes certain elements to make sure a bar is successful; in your opinion, what is most crucial?

Kelly: There are a couple of usual standards. The bar definitely has to have a certain ambience and something that is top most on any customer's mind is the standard of service and...

Yung: The products that we sell...

Kelly: They have to be of a certain quality

Yung: And the music. I mean there's so many intangible elements that you're talking about - music, decor, the location, the marketing, all this comes together to create a different form of ambience for every outlet which I think we would say is the most important thing.

BarmanGuide: Who are you targeting really?

Kelly: We just wanted to create a complementary space where the average customer know they can come here and they can find first of all, a certain quality in terms of ambience, service and definitely the music.

BarmanGuide: How different is Rouge from its predecessor?

Kelly: We gave it a whole new different music policy and we also introduced new nights to the club concept as a whole. Its predecessor had a uniformed standard music policy that played throughout the week. But where Rouge is concerned, we try to offer the customer variety.

BarmanGuide: What challenges did you guys face?

Yung: Construction, you always face a lot of problems with construction, talking about meeting deadlines, you know, marketing also we'll face like deadline problems, you have to come up with your artwork, your A&P (advertising & promotion) material.

Kelly: The entire process itself was rather nerve wrecking at times. But at the end of the day, it's always the results that we're after. Rouge has been around for about 7 months now. We're starting to see a system that is now in place, and there is a certain rhythm among all of us and I think that is a consequence of all the hard work we've put in.

BarmanGuide: As directors of the company, what's your job like?

Yung: Basically our job scope is quite all encompassing. There are some things which Kelly does which I don't do, which is the entertainment and some of the marketing. We're talking about like the A & P, and PR, events, membership.

Kelly: Those are the various components that make up the different functions within my team. It falls under the marketing umbrella. For entertainment, you've got music, Djs, audio visual. But then again there isn't a fine line which separates what Yung does and what I do because I think we complement each other very well and to the tune of it being unspoken. Another common portfolio we share is operations for example.

Yung: Originally it was only me looking after operations, but now Kelly also oversees everything together with me. When we come to decisions, we always make sure that we consult one another because we want to be moving in the same direction and not confuse every body else.

BarmanGuide: Any misconceptions you have faced about your jobs?

Yung: A lot of people think that you can just open shop, have a good idea, pop a few bottles of champagne every night and everyone will fall in love with the place.

BarmanGuide: But that's not true. There are so many other things that are unseen that people don't know about.

Kelly: I think the reason why a lot of people are drawn to the idea of setting up a bar or club is simply because they are seeing the end result of it. Oh it's like, it's a nice thing to get into huh, like what you need to do is to throw good parties, have your friends over. That is the glamourous part of it but that's also the part that requires the least amount of work.

Yung: A lot of people think that's just all the business is about. But there are 2 sides. There's the management and there's the operations. The management occurs behind the scenes during normal office hours. When everyone else is at work, we are preparing and getting ready, making sure everything is going to be all right so that we can run the operation smoothly when people come out to play. A lot more commitment is needed for this job. When you compare it to some normal day to day job.

Kelly: We're running a full scale business and it's not just about Rouge. I mean it could have been simpler if we're running just a club but it isn't because we're really running the entire complex.

BarmanGuide: What were your previous job experiences?

Yung: I actually returned one year ago from law school. I was supposed to do my Bar in London but then I came back and got caught up with this job. Me taking a law degree was not a reflection of my interest in becoming a lawyer; it was more of something that I felt would equip me with the skills I needed to run a business and to be most flexible in my choices.

Kelly: What I was doing before, what I was doing last, has always been about marketing and entertainment. I got involved with the whole scene very early on, very young, starting up from a part-time capacity to being involved with helming entertainment directions, opening bars, opening clubs.

BarmanGuide: Any regrets?

Kelly: We're adventurous, definitely ambitious and this is not where this is going to end. It's not just about Rouge and not just about the complex even, so why would there be any regrets? It's something that we enjoy doing, it's our lifestyle. I think so long as the elements are in place, there wouldn't' be any regrets. Only when we start to see it as a job then that's when the going gets tough.

BarmanGuide: Some word of advice for any budding entrepreneurs?

Yung: They need to be very committed, they need to have a passion for it. It's definitely not a part time job, Honestly, in this business, you need to be hands on, you need to be on the ground, you need to be around, you might not be the person running around mixing the drinks or anything but you must make sure that you are deeply involved.

Kelly: And it requires a business plan and a business strategy and a business model just like any other business. End of the day, we work to meet our bottom line as well. Be prepared and committed enough to invest three quarters of your daily life into it. Unless you're prepared to do so, it would be a rather tedious job!