DATO’ SHARON HANIFFA
PATIENCE IN BUILDING AN F&B EMPIRE Executive Director & Co-founder, Brickhouse Group
Patience and perseverance are the keys to building a successful business. Dato’ Sharon Haniffa learned this through building Brickhouse Group with his wife, Datin Christine Bong. The duo embarked on their F&B journey in 2014, starting from a small café that eventually grew into other cafés and restaurants, and events and catering services.
Since their cafés were mostly located on university grounds, they had to find a way to sustain their business during semester breaks, hence why catering came into the picture. It picked up steam sometime in the third to fifth year of their business and resulted in them shuttering most of their cafés to focus on catering.
“So, at that point in time, we had been doing so much catering and going to other people’s event venues, we started thinking, ‘Why don’t we just create our own space?’,” says Dato’ Sharon. This led to the formation of Pokok KL, the glasshouse café that soon garnered much attention for its ambience and aesthetic. In fact, on the first day itself, the couple found themselves facing a chaotic opening as they were not expecting the long line of customers eager to check out the café. Now, eight years after its formation, Brickhouse is home to 12 establishments including Daun, the “little sister” to Pokok; Ginger, focusing on Australian cuisine; and Ello!, which focuses on gourmet-style fast food. The latter two are the group’s recent ventures, along with the second Pokok at LaLaport Bukit Bintang City Centre.
No doubt part of their success comes from the positive energy they exude. Customers and business acquaintances alike would especially, if they introduce themselves as Brickhouse’s The Grand Pumbaa and The Director of Awesome – actual titles on his and her name cards, by the way. Dato’
Sharon, who also serves as the Director of MAHSA University, reminds today’s youngsters that success doesn’t happen overnight. “In this industry, it’s all about time and effort. It’ll take you easily four to five years to build yourself, your brand – and eventually you’ll get there.”