It is lovely to welcome a new business to the strip.
And this one comes with vitality, authenticity and a love story!
Calvin the proprietor is from Malaysia and has a passion for coffee that has grown on him over time.
Together with his wife Dee Dee whom he has known since childhood, they have put a lot of their own sweat equity into creating a unique and yet very Vic Park space for their customers to enjoy a brew of 5 Senses coffee.
The quirky interior design is a credit to Dee Dee’s design flair and Calvin’s hard-work.
Calvin came to Australia to test the waters on a working holiday and caught up with Dee Dee, now an Australian resident – that catch-up has now become a very permanent arrangement.
They toyed with buying a franchise coffee chain and looked at locations all over Perth, but it became abundantly clear that the place that was ‘happening’ was Victoria Park and that the way to do it was to create their own brand.
Sixteen Ounces was born. (16 is a lucky number for Calvin. It’s his birth date. He married Dee Dee on the 16th. And the number has always marked turning points in their life and new beginnings.)
It hasn’t been easy getting the business up and running. What with a Change of Use approval required from the local council (the last tenant was a Newsagent) and general time and cost over-runs, in Calvin’s words, ‘you’d be surprised what teaspoons cost!’, Sixteen Ounces birth has been a labour of love.
Calvin and Dee Dee are happy with the result and have been overwhelmed by the positive community sentiment for their new venture. It’s a long way from growing up in Malaysia but these two have now become part of the rich tapestry of what we like to call the Vic Park Life.
257 Albany Highway, Victoria Park,
Perth, Western Australia 6100
