“Failed miserably” at expanding first business
Before entering F&B around five years ago, Donovan worked in banking as a relationship manager, though he declined to disclose the name of his former employer. He holds a Banking and Finance degree from the University of London, which he pursued through SIM.
Despite his finance background, Donovan had long been interested in F&B. During a hiatus from his corporate job, he worked part-time in the kitchen at American burger chain Five Guys for a year, where he met ex-restaurant chef Joe Cheong.
The pair subsequently opened Wen Li Taiwanese Food at Golden Mile Food Centre, serving Taiwanese dishes such as braised pork rice and beef noodles. The stall remains in business, with Donovan continuing to oversee its administration, finances, marketing and human resources. His biz partner is the cook.
However, his first venture came with some hard lessons. Donovan says rental costs were a struggle as he was new to the industry and had bid for what he now describes as a “very scary amount”.
“I was too hasty in my first venture. We attempted expansion in our first year and failed miserably,” he tells 8days.sg.
Misses stable salary but no regrets leaving banking
Donovan spent just over two years in banking, before leaving the industry for F&B.
His parents were worried when he told them about the career switch, largely because of the long hours and physical demands associated with being a hawker, though they were supportive.
It also came with a “pay cut of about $2,000” he tells 8days.sg.
Five years on, his F&B income has yet to surpass what he earned in banking. “At some point in my business, my salary varied like the stock market,” he quips. “It has never been higher than what I got at my [previous] job yet, but I’m working on it.”
While Donovan enjoyed the finance-related aspects of banking, he found navigating the corporate ladder and workplace relationships challenging. He jokes that he misses having annual and medical leave, before adding that what he truly misses is the stability of a fixed monthly salary.
Even so, he does not regret his career switch.
“It has been a great five years, even with the hardship and difficulties,” he says.
Those experiences, including the unsuccessful expansion of Wen Li, made him more cautious when starting Ate Cookies. He spent over a year bidding for a stall at a rental rate he was comfortable with before securing his current unit, investing around $40,000 in the setup.
Unlike Wen Li, Ate Cookies is largely a one-man operation. His parents help part-time with some administrative and operational work, but Donovan handles most aspects of the business himself.
“The hard thing about solo venturing is I’m the brain, body, hands and legs,” he says.
He deliberately chose a concept that could be managed without a large team. “I wanted something that I liked and that I could do alone. I decided it was going to be cookies.”
Donovan, who shares a five-year-old son with his wife, an office administrator, is still learning to balance running two businesses with family life.
Like his parents, Donovan’s wife initially questioned why he had chosen the more difficult path of being a hawker vs banker, but eventually understood what he hoped to achieve.
She remains fairly hands-off and rarely asks him questions about either business. Donovan believes this is her way of avoiding putting additional pressure on him.
“I think she just doesn’t want to stress me too much,” he says with a laugh.
Subway cookie sparked idea for chunkier bakes
Despite his years in F&B, Donovan had no baking experience before starting Ate Cookies.
The idea came unexpectedly while he was eating a Subway cookie.
“I thought to myself – it would be nice if the cookie was thicker and yummier,” he recalls.
Donovan sampled chunky cookies from two local brands while researching the market. Though he found them “nice in their own ways”, he wanted his version to be larger, denser and more generously packed.
“The cookie dough and the ingredients need to have their own personality,” he says.
His research later led him to New York’s Levain Bakery, whose especially chunky cookies became his main reference. Having never tried the original, Donovan studied it through videos and images online. Rather than create an exact replica, he developed a Levain-inspired version for local tastes.
“I wanted the cookies to feel homemade, rather than commercial,” he adds.
Chose hawker centre stall to test if concept works
He does not think the premium cookie concept is out of place in a hawker centre. Donovan believes a new generation of hawkers is broadening the food available there, with fewer limits on what they can offer.
“A hawker centre is a place where we can test if an idea works,” he explains. “We get a good flow of customers and experience from operating a stall. It operates as a traditional business, but on a smaller scale in comparison.”
However, he acknowledges that footfall at Golden Mile Food Centre has declined. Despite this, Donovan says business at Ate Cookies has been “slow but steady” and is progressing according to plan.
“Golden Mile is losing [its] crowd,” he says, adding that any profits he earns are reinvested into the stall for now.
Donovan nevertheless chose the location so Ate Cookies would be close to Wen Li. He says distance and additional overheads contributed to his first venture’s failed expansion, so he wanted to be nearby whenever Wen Li needed him.
Asked why he invested $40,000 in a new cookie concept instead of expanding the more established Wen Li, Donovan declined to elaborate. “I can’t comment too much. It’s due to personal reasons,” he says.
He similarly declined to explain why taking on the additional investment and workload made financial sense when his F&B income has yet to surpass his banking salary.
He continues to receive an ad hoc salary from Wen Li for backend work such as accounting and tax matters, and says income from the Taiwanese stall has supported him and his family over the past five years.
Some customers say cookies are expensive
At $5.50 to $7 each, Donovan acknowledges that one of his cookies could cost as much as a hawker meal.
“Some customers have told me that they find the cookies expensive,” he admits. “For the price of one cookie, you could buy yourself a meal for lunch.”
Most of his customers are younger diners and office workers, whom he reasons are more willing to pay for dessert.
He views the cookies as an occasional treat rather than a meal.
“It’s something that you eat so that you feel happier after eating it,” he says.
He points to their size and ingredients to justify the prices. Ate Cookies’ offerings weigh between 180g and 200g each, compared with what Donovan says are the 120g to 150g cookies commonly sold elsewhere.
The nuts, couverture chocolate, matcha and cocoa powder used also don’t come cheap, he adds.
Given their hefty size, Donovan recommends sharing one cookie between two people.
Four cookie options from $5.50
Ate Cookies currently offers four flavours.
The Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookie ($5.50) is loaded with walnuts and dark couverture chocolate. There’s also the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie ($5.50) and Matcha Macadamia White Chocolate Cookie ($5.50). The priciest option is the Chocolate Lava Cookie ($7), a thick chocolate cookie with a molten centre that oozes when broken apart. It vies with the Matcha Macadamia White Chocolate Cookie as the stall’s bestseller.
Our colleague who sampled the Chocolate Lava Cookie found it rather sweet but “very moist, dense and chocolatey”. He also noted that the chunks of nuts in some of the other flavour options were particularly large and generously portioned.
Donovan bakes and sells around 60 to 70 cookies daily. From 11am to 2pm, the stall keeps ready-baked cookies on hand for immediate collection and continues baking throughout operating hours to maintain fresh stock. As flavours begin selling out after 2pm, he stops replenishing the display and switches mainly to baking online orders on demand.
For now, Donovan is keeping the menu small.
“I went through a lot in my first business and learnt the ropes of being in the food industry,” he says. “I want to continue creating good food.”
Donovan hopes Ate Cookies will gain enough traction for him to eventually open a small standalone bakery.
Ate Cookies is located at Golden Mile Food Centre, 505 Beach Rd, S199583. Open Tue-Sun 11am-2pm. Closed on Mon. More info via Instagram.
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