Establishments fight for slice of Jakarta nightlife pie

Establishments fight for slice of Jakarta nightlife pie

JAKARTA (JP): As the cafe culture takes hold and the number of
foreigners in the city escalates, the number of places to eat and
drink in the city has surged.

With more than 400 restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars in the
capital, establishment owners are having to adjust their prices
and improve their services to keep their businesses healthy and
profitable.

Among the noted cafes in the city are Hard Rock Cafe, Fashion
Cafe, News Cafe, Planet Hollywood, Hazara, Cafe Batavia,
Fabrice's and Zanzibar. Balemang, Asmat, Jalan-Jalan, Cafe
Jimbani and JJ Duit, all controlled or partly controlled by
Bambang A. Wiyogo, have also been gaining in popularity.

Jaya Pub, Pete's Tavern, La Bodega and Le Bristo -- run by PT
Indonesia Service Organization, a company owned by the artist
couple Rima Melati and Frans Tumbuan -- are some of the city's
older establishments.

Entertainment is also found at most of the city's larger
hotels, such as the Equinox at Dusit Inn, BATS (Shangri-la),
O'Reiley's (Grand Hyatt), Morgan's (Daiichi), Chequers
(Mandarin), Tavern (Aryaduta), Komodo Airways (Atlet Century),
Pharaoh (Acacia), Arios (Ambhara), Onyx (Ibis Slipi) and Brown
(Omni Batavia).

Fashion Cafe's Eddy Thio said that pubs and cafes are not just
a place for meals but also a rendezvous point for businesspeople
and dealmakers.

"We host social and commercial activities," he said, adding
that such events were originally necessary to attract more
clientele.

The success of the pub and cafe business has led to the
opening of more establishments like Mat Dollah in the Sarinah
shopping complex, Garasi in the Jakarta Stock Exchange building
and Kafe Cyber in Bapindo Plaza.

But as with any other business venture, not all owners have
the Midas touch. The Stage, Upstairs, Blue Note, Zach and
Metropolis are just a few of the places to have gone under to the
competition.

History

The history of cafes in Jakarta dates back to 1976, when Jaya
Pub, the first pub to offer live music, started operating on Jl.
Thamrin in Central Jakarta.

Ina Ardianto, the manager of ISO, said that Jaya Pub was
opened at the same time as the Tanamur discotheque and the now
defunct LCC restaurant, both in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

"It's a legendary place for some expatriates and foreigners in
Jakarta," she said, adding that 90 percent of Jaya Pub's
customers were foreigners and tourists.

"Many top singers and musicians like Vonny Sumlang, Margie
Segers, Ermy Kulit, Ireng Maulana, Nunung Wardiman and Idang
Rashidi used to play and sing at Jaya Pub," she said, adding that
one of the musicians, Victor Rompas, has been performing at Jaya
Pub since it opened 21 years ago.

Even with few changes to its setup, the pub still attracts up
to 200 visitors every day.

"We have stayed with the original concept. We just keep up the
maintenance. We don't follow other people's concepts because we
know our market segment," Ina explained.

Cyberfun

Sebastian Edy of Kafe Cyber said that every cafe should have
something unique. His cafe, owned by PT Mitranet Cipta Pratama,
chose to focus on technological attractions such as the Internet,
CU See Me video phone and an Integrated Service Digital Network.

He said that Kafe Cyber, set up with an investment of Rp 1
billion, is designed for young professionals.

Public relations manager at Mat Dollah, Iwan Hediawan, said
that his cafe, scheduled to open in April, is aimed at families.

"Mat Dollah is originally from Malaysia and will not sell
alcohol," Iwan said, adding that the cafe was set up with an
investment of Rp 3.5 billion.

"It will be very challenging for us. But I hope people who
spend time at other cafes drinking alcohol will also come to Mat
Dollah. We will serve Malaysian food and the interior design
representing Malaysian styles will also be something special for
Indonesian visitors," he said.

He said Teh Tarik would be one of the specialty drinks at Mat
Dollah, which is owned by PT Matdollah Berjaya, a subsidiary of
Tadmansori Group.

Interior design may be important, but Ina said that many
Jakartans are just looking to try something new.

"People will visit the same place for about three months, then
they will look for something new or return to the place they
really like."

Bambang pointed to the important role of prices.

"I hope the government will implement a regulation that
restricts new cafes and restaurants to certain areas so as to
prevent unhealthy rivalries," he said.

Czech-born Jiri Kobos, general manager of PT Pacific
Metrorealty, which runs Jalan-Jalan, said that entertainment had
become an irreversible part of the lifestyle of today's urban
populations.

"We all want to introduce something different as competition
is very tough in the city, not just live music. We have to
understand that the market is always shifting."

Kobos, who has been working for 25 years in the hospitality
industry and spent the last five years working in Indonesia,
said that competition may be tight, but that cafes, bars,
restaurants and night clubs would always have potential as long
as one knows the business. (team)