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Switching from one career to another without having prior experience is no doubt a scary prospect. But oftentimes, it’s proven to also be the best decisions one has ever made.
One such individual is Claire Tan, who recently sat down with WeirdKaya to share her journey about starting off as a flight attendant to becoming the founder of Grumpy Bagels, a trendy bagel cafe located behind Tun Razak Exchange (TRX).
Flying high in the skies
From a young age, Claire had always harboured dreams of owning her very own bakery, largely thanks to the immense influence her mother had on her through her many baking and cooking sessions.
However, when she told her mother that she wanted to pursue culinary arts, it was met with swift resistance as her mother was worried that she wouldn’t be able to earn a stable income.
“As years passed, I graduated from university and began looking for a job that would fit my HR (human resources) background. But as I searched, I realised I wasn’t suited for a desk job due to my ‘active’ nature.
“Thus, when I saw that Emirates Airline was having an open day in Singapore, I immediately seized the opportunity and went for the interview, where I was hired as a flight attendant in 2016,” she shared.
For the first three years of her job, Claire found herself flying to multiple countries and meeting new people along the way, and she enjoyed it so much that she described it as “the best job in the world”.
Grounded
Unfortunately, those happy times came to an end when Claire suffered an industry injury following a fall and found herself unable to embark on work flights due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Additionally, she also found her health to be suffering as a result of her unpredictable flight schedules and frequent jet lags.
Given the fact that I was injured, I was inevitably one of the many staff that got let go by Emirates Airline in 2021 and my contract wasn’t renewed.
“Despite this, I consider myself to be quite lucky as prior to my retrenchment, I had already started my own home-based business in Dubai, where I’d bake pandan chiffon cake and sell it to Malaysian colleagues who missed the taste of home,” she recounted.
Betting on bagels
Upon touching down in Malaysia, Claire said she was in a state of “confusion” as she was unsure of what to do next and wasn’t confident that selling pandan chiffon cake would be a viable business.
“Eventually, I decided to start making bagels at home as I fell in love with it during my many trips to New York City, where I would always have bagels whenever I’m there.
“My husband, who has been my biggest supporter, often encouraged me and was the one who planted the idea of opening my very own bagel shop in Malaysia,” she said.
Sensing that this would serve as a springboard to fulfil her childhood dream, Claire informed her parents about her desire to open a bagel cafe but unsurprisingly, it was met with opposition.
“They were very against it and my mum told me, ‘Can you please go and look for a stable job instead? This is so risky!’
“However, I decided to trust my gut instincts and insisted on going ahead with it as my experience in Dubai showed me that baking was something that could work.”
And thus, Grumpy Bagels was officially born in April 2024.
Turning hard criticism into soft acceptance
As it always is with most businesses, Grumpy Bagels didn’t exactly have a smooth start due to the public having grouses over the bagels itself.
“Malaysians as a whole are rather accustomed to Japanese-styled breads, where the texture is much softer compared to bagels. As you’d probably expect, the reception was largely negative, with customers calling in to complain about how hard and ‘unfresh’ it was.
“There was no way we could abandon the business as we had invested a huge amount of money into it. So, my husband and I spent the next one month staying back at the cafe after working hours experimenting and creating bagels that could be accepted by Malaysians.
“If you were to ask me to describe the bagels that I sell, it’s unlike the traditional ones which are typically dense and chewy. At Grumpy Bagels, ours is still chewy, but softer in texture,” she explained.
Claire’s resilience and perseverance eventually paid off and today, Grumpy Bagels has earned itself a large following with customers lining up to have a taste of its 14 unique bagels.
Standing out from the crowd
Claire told me that one of the aspects that makes Grumpy Bagels different from any typical cafe in the local scene is the building itself, where an interesting story lies behind it.
“Having travelled to places like Italy and Australia, I’ve always been amazed by how they turn historical buildings into cafes, which blends perfectly into the cafe vibes – an atmosphere I wanted to replicate in Malaysia,” she explained.
And as if a higher power had heard her request by ear, Claire came across an abandoned building left to decay in silence and something told her that it was the future home of Grumpy Bagels.
“The landlord was initially reluctant to rent the building to us due to my lack of portfolio and F&B experience. But after pitching my proposal and having three meetings with him, he eventually relented.”
Interestingly, Claire revealed that the landlord drops by the cafe every now and then, adding, “It’s clear to me now that he doesn’t regret renting the building to me.”
Aside from the building, every bagel sold at the cafe is 100% made from scratch, with notable examples such as its Black Sesame and Taro Mochi bagel.
However, Claire admitted that producing bagels entirely on her own has given rise to the issue of manpower, one that she’s still looking to resolve to this day.
‘Passion is what keeps me going’
During the first six months after Grumpy Bagels opened its doors to the public, Claire had to contend with super long queues and customers who left behind negative reviews over petty matters.
A customer once threatened to get his whole family to rate Grumpy Bagels poorly if we didn’t let him into the shop within 15 minutes, while another left a 1-star review simply because back then, we used to be closed on Tuesdays.
“While such incidents did make me doubt myself, it didn’t cause me to give up on my dream as I’ve invested so much into Grumpy Bagels and I didn’t have the time to have regrets over it.
“At the end of the day, it’s passion that keeps me going. For an industry like F&B, you need lots of it or else you’ll find dealing with difficult customers and sustaining the business tough.”
Aside from passion, Claire added that her love for baking is another factor that spurs her on. “Even now, I bake from time to time and it’s sort of like a form of therapy for me,” she said.
‘Be prepared’
When asked what advice she has for those looking to venture down the same path as she did, she highlighted the importance of being fully prepared beforehand.
“When I first opened Grumpy Bagels, many said they wanted to be like me as I could be my own boss and not be tired out so easily. But truth is, that’s not the case.
“If I were to compare my current workload to what I had back when I was a flight attendant, I’d say my working hours are longer but also more rewarding.
“Many people ask me how to maintain work-life balance, but honestly, I don’t know how to balance it. For me, it feels more like work-life integration, where priorities shift over time.
“When we first opened, our priority was to stabilise operations and create a product that suited everyone’s tastes, so we spent day and night working on it.
“But once we figured things out, we gained more flexibility to focus on ourselves and the future direction of the business,” she said.
Claire also encouraged others to step out from their fear of failure and have bigger faith in their own potential.
“Always believe in what you’re able to accomplish. Also, don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. You’re capable of more than you think!”
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