SingLit hang-out Book Bar to migrate to Tiong Bahru Community Centre by end-2026

SINGAPORE – Home-grown bookstore and SingLit community hang-out Book Bar in Duxton Road is set to move to Tiong Bahru Community Centre by the end of 2026.

Co-founded by couple Alex Chua and Sara Ng in 2023, the independent bookstore and cafe has defied the odds to become a fixture in central Singapore, a default pit stop for local book launches that is equally appealing to passing tourists.

Buoyed by its success – and perhaps drawn to cheaper rent – it has won a tender for a 2,172 sq ft space, twice the size of its current heritage shophouse site.

Chua tells The Straits Times in an exclusive interview: “We needed a bigger space for the community events that we hold, like our book launches, readings and even our non-literary events. Being a SingLit-focused bookstore, it has great synergy to be in the first community centre built in Singapore. Ultimately, bookshops are about community as well.”

Renovations at Tiong Bahru Community Centre begin soon, and the owners are hoping for a short transition period so that Book Bar will not have to close during the move.

With more space, Chua hopes for more collaborations, such as cooking and flower-arrangement classes, and food pop-ups like the one it held with bakery Buttered Crumbs in August.

In a shift from its beginnings, when it carried only Singapore titles, it will also start to carry non-Singaporean and non-Asian books, so people also think of it as their first port of call for the latest bestsellers.

Chua says of his vision: “We want to make it a place that’s lively and where people want to come visit, to see what’s happening and to be a place for community to grow.

“We also want to work with the community centre to see if there’s any way we can collaborate with them on the events they organise as well.”

Minister of State for Manpower and Trade and Industry Foo Cexiang facilitated the decision.

A patron of Book Bar before he became an MP for Tanjong Pagar, Foo said Chua had voiced concerns about higher rent in the Duxton area. He suggested Chua bid for the Tiong Bahru Community Centre space.

Foo says: “The community centre management has its own committee to decide on tenders, and I merely proposed that the general direction should be towards spaces that can bring the community together.

“I’m very happy with the award. Reading can bring young families together. Book Bar also supports local literature.”

Foo says several groups, such as Shine Children & Youth Services in the constituency, have started reading programmes for residents, including children in rental blocks. Tiong Bahru residents are also taking part in a story collection project.

“It’s good that the community centre management committee saw value in what Book Bar was proposing. What I’m trying to do is to spur more broad-based reading for everybody.”

Chua says he has learnt in the past few years that there is a groundswell of support for independent spaces. His ethos is still to maintain and create a welcoming third place.

He has played book connoisseur for those unfamiliar with Singapore books and promises unabating “bookworm banter”.

As he figures out the new expanded model, he assures regulars that he is unwavering in his focus on SingLit and support for local authors.

“Obviously, it’s not an easy business, running both F&B and a bookshop,” he reflects. “Costs are always high. But we have enjoyed it and hope to be a place that can last and thrive.”