Ong Zhe Jun had to consistently reinvent his business to stay ahead and to stop Covid-19 from ‘derailing’ his profits.
Ong, 33, who taught Mandarin and music at several international schools, set up his drinks kiosk at the USJ 7 light rapid transport (LRT) station, aptly named LRTea, in January.
Since then, he has changed the business concept to include finger food, sandwiches, burgers and rice dishes.
“Although I named the business LRTea, it also stands for Let’s Race Time … because people are racing to get to their trains, and we race to get their orders ready on time!
“I had no choice but to reinvent the way I ran the business as Covid-19 made it difficult to just sell coffee, tea and other drinks,” said Ong, who watched YouTube videos for over a year to learn how to become a barista.
“A friend of mine also gave me lessons on the art of coffee-making, and drawing designs on coffees.
“I used to take the LRT to work, and stopped at USJ 7. I noticed the foot traffic was quite high. That was when I decided that opening a kiosk was the way forward.”
That was in late 2019. After doing a feasibility study, Ong roped in a business partner, and they approached Prasarana to get permission to open their kiosk.
But, after everything was set, Covid-19 hit. Ong said that since he had committed to running the business, he went ahead with the planning and renovation, but delayed opening his business until earlier this year.
“We could have opened sooner, but there were just too many holidays towards the end of 2020. That was why we decided to wait until January,” said Ong, a graduate of the Malaysia Institute of Art.
“Sadly, due to Covid-19, the number of people taking the LRT has dropped significantly. Compared to 2019, we get 80 per cent less foot traffic now. Perhaps people are still working from home.
“I also notice that people are more careful with their money. Not everyone can afford to pay RM5-10 for a cup of coffee, or tea.
“So, I re-grouped, and decided to add food to cater to the needs of the passengers.”
That proved to be a brilliant decision as LRTea had a fixed clientele for lunch – until the Movement Control Order (MCO) came into effect on June 1.
Undeterred, Ong struck a deal with Prasarana staff, delivering food for free, up to 10 stations away.
“That way, the staff did not have to worry about finding food. We ride the trains and deliver to them. We also deliver for free to those nearby,” said Ong, who hired two cooks to help in the kitchen.
“What makes our food appealing is that it is affordable and tasty. I have also learnt how to make some meals.
“Surprisingly, the bestseller is our Korean Fried Chicken. It has become so popular that I am thinking of opening up a stall in a restaurant next year, just focusing on fried chicken.”
One unique aspect of LRTea is that the kiosk is modelled to look like an LRT train.
“Initially, we even combined the Prasarana logo with ours in the front of our ‘train’ but were told to remove it,” said Ong.
“Nonetheless, I am grateful to Prasarana as the rental is quite reasonable, and for helping us during the MCO.
“In a way, that helped give us time to establish ourselves. Otherwise, we may have shut down long ago.
“I am grateful to have survived Covid-19 and hope to grow my business even further in the coming months.”
To learn more about Ong’s kiosk, head to the USJ 7 LRT station, or visit its Facebook
