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From part-time barista to 2D cafe owner

TUMPAT, Sept 12 — Five years ago, while working as a part-time barista at a branch of a popular coffee house chain in Kuala Lumpur, Ismail Mohamad had harboured dreams of venturing into the food and beverage business.

Today, Ismail, 24, is the proud owner of Movilion Coffee House (Movilion) and he operates two unique concept stores, one in Pasir Pekan, here, and another in Kota Bharu, which make for impressive Instagram photos.

“The trend among young people nowadays is to take selfies and share their photographs on social media and this had set me thinking about doing something different, because for the youngsters these days, it is the experience or unique memories that they are after.

“I was also inspired by the two-dimensional world inspired cafes which I had visited when I had the opportunity to travel to several foreign countries during my stint with a local airline company before this,” he told Bernama.

What is unique about Movilion, is at its dining section, the walls and floor are painted with white and black two-dimensional (2D) drawings which come to life, including that of a lady enjoying a drink in the restaurant.

“The first time I travelled to Korea in 2018, I visited Incheon and Seoul and I was impressed by a cafe with 2D interiors with decorative elements drawn onto the walls which created a strange yet enchanting optical illusion.

“That was where I got the idea of opening a coffee shop with 2D effect interiors in Kelantan which is definitely going to be different from the others that we have here,” he said.

Apart from serving an assortment of coffee, Movilion also has an extensive selection of western food including various types of pasta dishes and grilled chicken as well as desserts such as cheesecake-flavoured ice cream and its best-seller waffle with ice cream, all of which are Ismail’s very own recipes.

Ismail said he started to venture into the business after losing his job as a customer service staff of a local airline at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was with the company for almost four years and was really passionate about my job, but it all ended after I was laid off in January. So, I decided to return home and stay with my parents in Bachok.

“I started the business (Movilion) in early February using my own savings and assisted by my two sisters, Nurul Izzah, 32, and Fauzah, 29, who are also my business partners and advisors of the company,” he said.

Ismail admitted that initially, the response was lukewarm following the implementation of the Movement Control Order during which time, eateries were not allowed to operate normally to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

However, with strong determination, Ismail said he continued to promote Movilion through social media and engaged e-hailing services to boost sales and the hard work slowly paid off when his cafe became the talk of the town since last June.

Ismail, the fifth of six siblings said he could now rake in RM50,000 to RM70,000 a month and his sales revenue had been increasing after the government’s decision to allow dine-ins in restaurants and eateries.

Ismail, who holds a Diploma in Aviation Management from Cybernatics College in Kuala Lumpur said, for the moment, he wants to focus on strengthening the two existing Movilion branches before expanding his business to other districts.

“Insya-Allah, I will open another branch soon, while at the same time help provide employment opportunities for local youths,” said Ismail who currently has eight workers.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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