Jigger & Pony’s Gan Guoyi on what it takes to thrive in Singapore’s F&B scene

It’s 10 am on a Monday, and Gan Guoyi, 40, walks into Jigger & Pony with a set of dry-cleaned clothes – a picture of calm amid the aftermath of last night’s chaos. The Singapore bar recently secured a spot in the Top 5 of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2024 list, announced in Madrid on Oct 23.

To celebrate, she threw a three-night promotion from Nov 10, where customers enjoyed five premium cocktails for just $5 each at select bars like Gibson, Live Twice, Sugarhall, Como Pony Jakarta, and Jigger & Pony.

Naturally, the event was a hit, and Guoyi, who was manning the guest list at Sugarhall, only managed a few hours of sleep the night before. Still, she arrives promptly to our photo shoot without complaints.

“I think nobody was expecting (the fifth placing) because everybody was like, ‘Anything ahead of last year’s (Jigger & Pony landed on No. 14 then) is great.’ When they announced it, everyone went through the roof,” she shares.

Jigger & Pony first made it onto Asia’s Best Bars list at No. 8 in 2016, and has since picked up eight more awards. The saloon also claimed the coveted top spot in 2020. As for The World’s Best Bars list, it debuted in 2019 at No. 29, and has remained on the list, finally breaking into the top five this year.

“There’s pressure to always be ahead of creativity, consumer understanding and consumer trends, but I also think of it as a source of motivation for our team,” says Guoyi.

“We have also taken our chef and bar team on trips, curating a list of venues with varying styles and concepts for them to experience. This really helps when we discuss executing a certain style of concept or service delivery. We also continue to understand and observe changes in technology and marketing opportunities.

“More recently, we sent a colleague to attend a marketing course on Xiao Hong Shu to better understand consumers using the growing platform,” she adds.

Receiving recognition from major industry awards is important, says Guoyi, as it plays a crucial role in encouraging both personal and professional growth of her team.

“When we first made it onto The World’s Best Bars list in 2019, we had already been around for seven years – and seven years is a long time for a bar. It’s important for my team to feel that they’re doing a good job. I think it’s also important to focus every day on your customers, who are always supportive of you. Enjoy their time as they are your best ambassadors,” she says.

A people person

A self-confessed “free spirit”, Guoyi attributes her adventurous streak to her father, a furniture distributor. When she was younger, her fondest childhood memories involved athletics, as her father would take her running around Singapore.

After graduating from the University of Queensland (she did e-commerce and accounting because “it was cool”), Guoyi enrolled in Singapore Airlines’ rigorous cabin crew training programme in 2006. Sometime in 2009, on a typical night out with friends at Ice-Cold Beer, Guoyi crossed paths with Indra Kantono. Indra was there with a colleague whom Guoyi knew. This seemingly ordinary encounter would blossom into a lifelong partnership.

She shares: “He was a nice person, but it wasn’t love at first sight. I like to get to know people better, and I’m more drawn to someone’s personality. So it was nice to get to know him for several months.”

After six years of flying, Guoyi called it quits because she felt she had no control over her career progression. It was at that stage when Guoyi started questioning her life goals – she was split between continuing her studies and starting a business. It was Indra’s former boss at his previous private equity firm who helped Guoyi overcome her uncertainty by asking the right questions.”

Guoyi and Indra poured running capital of just under half a million dollars into Jigger & Pony, and without other external investments, they exercised prudence wherever they could.

“We prioritised items that our customers could physically touch, such as glassware and lush furniture fabrics, and were committed to continually invest such that we could improve the venue slowly,” she says.

Even before the launch of Jigger & Pony at Amoy Street in 2012, Guoyi ran into a few operating challenges such as securing a space, with many bids falling through, as well as rejections from landlords.

“We’d been looking for a space to start the business since 2011, and it was really difficult. A lot of the bids that we placed didn’t go through, so everything fell apart,” recalls Guoyi, who then decided to quit her air stewardess job to fully commit to the new business.

When Jigger & Pony finally opened, Guoyi began managing the bar with a team of six full-time staff, working tirelessly seven days a week. Japanese maestro Aki Eguchi, who left his position at the oneMichelin-starred restaurant Waku Ghin to join the team, was leading the classic cocktail programme they became known for – including martinis and sours, to name a few.

The real test began less than a year after Guoyi started Jigger & Pony. At her lowest point, she experienced a breakdown in a public park.

“I had spent six years with Singapore Airlines, and it taught me a lot about hospitality, but I was a first-time manager of a cocktail bar. I knew how to give, but maybe I didn’t know how to hold back,” she shares.

She pauses to take a breath before continuing: “I was both mentally and physically exhausted. And when you’re exhausted, you don’t consider other people’s perspectives. But at the end of the day, Indra was always supportive. He was upset with me for saying that nothing was ever good enough, but we worked it out.”

Over time, Guoyi learnt to become a better communicator and manager. Instead of dwelling on disagreements, she focuses on being clear about what she wants and sharing her ideas at the right time. With her partner, Indra, she says it’s all about “being willing to support each other’s ideas”. The couple got married in January 2014 and subsequently, Indra quit his private equity job and joined the business full time.

Investing in the future

As their business operations with Jigger & Pony stabilised, Guoyi and Indra went bold with expansions, opening rum-and-nosh bar Sugarhall in 2014; cocktail bar Gibson, whisky and cocktail bar Flagship, and seafood restaurant Humpback in 2015; modern Italian restaurant Caffe Fernet in 2018; and cocktail bar Live Twice in 2019.

Beneath her composed and analytical exterior, Guoyi reveals a hint of underlying nervousness. The opening of Caffe Fernet in 2018 marked a significant milestone for the group, as it was their largest venue to date, accommodating over 100 patrons.

“We poured a lot of money into it,” she stresses. To maintain high service standards and customer experience, Guoyi adopted an innovative approach that is inspired by The Union Group, a Jakarta-based hospitality group. She placed service stations prominently within the customer area. This strategic move would streamline service and reduce the workload on the bar staff.

That same year, Sugarhall went dormant due to building renovations, and Guoyi learnt that Jigger & Pony’s lease on Amoy Street would be cancelled due to redevelopment.  

“We decided it was a priority to reopen Jigger & Pony at a new location,” she shares. Guoyi had known Dawn Teo – owner of Amara Hotel Singapore – for some time, as Dawn had previously approached her about assisting with hotel operations. Although Guoyi declined – as her company doesn’t offer consulting services – they stayed in touch.

“We have a good relationship with Dawn. She has been very supportive of us. I appreciate her calm demeanour and collaborative approach in anticipating and tackling challenges,” Guoyi says. It occurred to her then that she could ask Dawn to consider Jigger & Pony as a tenant. “So that’s how we ended up here,” says Guoyi.

Jigger & Pony finally reopened in September 2018 as a 140-seater hotel bar, in a bigger and more expansive space than the intimate setting it used to offer at Amoy Street. These days, Guoyi has reduced the time she spends working at the bars. She shares that she typically handles just two shifts a week, and drops in during busier periods. Much of her time is now dedicated to training her staff.

“In the last two years, we’ve been building Pony Academy, an online learning resource platform designed for our young bartenders and team to develop their knowledge and test their skills.

“Our bartenders are essentially like food scientists – always testing and experimenting with liquids. On our menu, we often start with the backbone of classic cocktails we love, and innovate on them while preserving the DNA of the original drink,” says Guoyi.

This year, the Jigger & Pony Group entered a joint venture with Indonesia’s hospitality company The Union Group, to establish Como Pony, a new cocktail bar in Grand Hyatt Hotel, Jakarta. 

Doing what matters

With a reliable team behind them, Guoyi and Indra can now work towards a better work-life balance and enjoy well-deserved breaks. The appointment of director of operations, James Moon, who shadows Guoyi, has been a “great addition to the team”.

She adds: “I have been able to work with James to achieve more sustainable work schedules. I definitely am more able to take days off now where I can compartmentalise and not think about work.”

Guoyi is also trying to set dinner routines with her family, having missed out on family time in the last few years. Most importantly, she wants to continue to mentor and train her team members to reach their full potential.

“For me, empowering women in our industry means helping them achieve their goals in both their professional and personal lives in a sustainable way.

“As our company grows, we have team members reaching new phases in their lives, such as getting married or starting a family. I want to create a supportive environment, and we achieve this by expanding our company with diverse brands and styles of venues, which open up a variety of roles and service styles,” she says.

PHOTOGRAPHY ANGELA GUO
ART DIRECTION ADELINE ENG
HAIR & MAKEUP BENEDICT CHOO, USING NARS