Jackie Loo is the founder of Caffé Diem, one of the first homegrown third-wave cafes in Alor Setar, Kedah. Labelling himself as the jack of all trades and master of none, Jackie is no stranger to coffee for having spent most of his childhood roaming around his grandfather’s Hainanese kopitiam. In this podcast, he shared the time he connected with a regular customer that later became his business partner and how they both transformed a drug addict haven into a community space shared by all.

“Sometimes you have an idea, but to make things happen, you need people who share the same vision as you. ” - Jackie Loo

Timestamps:

00:00 - Guest Introduction

00:45 - Life in Alor Setar is QUALITY

02:10 - Must-try food in town

03:14 - Growing up in a working-class family that runs a Hainanese coffee shop

05:50 - I’m a jack of all trades, master of none.

07:30 - The business, science and communications era

09:17 - Birth of Caffé Diem

13:36 - How he met his partner and expanded from a 10-table cafe into a 120-year-old heritage building

19:35 - The renovation story

27:24 - Growing cafe scene in Alor Setar

28:33 - How illegally chopping down an old tree led to the revitalization of Lorong Penjara Lama

33:13 - “At a certain point of time, we have to leave Alor Setar.”

36:07 - Coffee Influencer

38:17 - “Everything is a matter of perspective, no challenges can’t be resolved.”

40:55 - Advice for people who want to start a cafe