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

Book Bar in Duxton Road has played host to book clubs and readings but also food pop-ups.

ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

Published Sep 30, 2026, 10:25 AM

Updated Sep 30, 2026, 10:57 AM

Book Bar, a popular independent bookstore and SingLit community hub in Duxton Road, will move to a larger 2,172 sq ft space at Tiong Bahru Community Club.

The move was supported by Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Foo Cexiang.

It will carry international books, but owner Alex Chua remains committed to supporting local literature.

SINGAPORE – Homegrown bookstore and SingLit community hangout Book Bar, currently in Duxton Road, is set to move to Tiong Bahru Community Centre by end-2026.

Co-founded by couple Alex Chua and Sara Ng in 2023, the independent bookstore and cafe has for years defied the odds to make itself a fixture in central Singapore, the default pitstop for local book launches and equally appealing to passing tourists.

Buoyed by its success – and perhaps drawn to cheaper rental – it has now successfully won a tender process for a 2,172 sq ft space, double 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 CC that was built in Singapore. Ultimately, bookshops are about community as well.”

Renovation at Tiong Bahru CC begin soon and the owners are hoping for as short a transition period as possible so that Book Bar will not have to shut at all during the move.

With more acreage, Chua is hoping for more collaborations, even cooking and flower arrangement classes and food pop-ups like the one it held with bakery Buttered Crumbs in August.

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

Chua adds 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 CC to see if there’s any way we can collaborate with them on the events they organise as well.”

MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC and recently-promoted Minister of State for Manpower and Trade Foo Cexiang facilitated the decision.

A patron of Book Bar even before he became MP for the ward, Foo said Chua had voiced concerns of higher rental in the Duxton area, after which he suggested Chua bid for the Tiong Bahru CC space.

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

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

Foo says there are several groups like Shine Children & Youth Services in his GRC that have started reading programmes for residents, including for children in rental blocks. There is also a project for story collection among Tiong Bahru residents.

“It’s good that the CC 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.”

On what he has learnt in the past few years, Chua says it is that there is a groundswell of support for independent spaces. His ethos is still of maintaining and creating 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 still 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.”

达克斯顿路上的书吧不仅举办过读书俱乐部和朗读会，还举办过美食快闪活动。

圣街照片：德斯蒙德·魏

发布于 2026 年 9 月 30 日上午 10:25

更新于2026年9月30日上午10:57

位于达士敦路的颇受欢迎的独立书店兼新加坡文学社区中心 Book Bar 将搬迁至中峇鲁民众俱乐部更大的 2,172 平方英尺的空间。

丹戎巴葛集选区议员符策祥支持这一举措。

这家书店会出售国际书籍，但店主 Alex Chua 仍然致力于支持本土文学。

新加坡——本土书店兼新加坡文学社区聚会场所 Book Bar 目前位于达士敦路，计划于 2026 年底前搬迁至中峇鲁民众俱乐部。

这家独立书店兼咖啡馆由 Alex Chua 和 Sara Ng 夫妇于 2023 年共同创立，多年来克服重重困难，已成为新加坡市中心的一家标志性店铺，是本地新书发布会的首选落脚点，也同样吸引着过往的游客。

受到成功鼓舞——或许也因为租金更便宜——该公司现已成功赢得一个 2,172 平方英尺的空间的招标，是其目前历史悠久的店屋所在地的两倍。

蔡先生在接受《海峡时报》独家专访时表示：“我们需要更大的空间来举办社区活动，例如新书发布会、朗读会，甚至是一些非文学类活动。作为一家专注于新加坡文学的书店，入驻新加坡首个社区中心可谓相得益彰。归根结底，书店也是社区的一部分。”

中峇鲁民众俱乐部即将开始装修，业主希望过渡期尽可能短，以便书吧在搬迁期间无需停业。

蔡先生希望通过扩大种植面积，开展更多合作，例如烹饪和插花课程，以及像8月份与Buttered Crumbs面包店合作举办的美食快闪活动。

该书店最初只销售新加坡书籍，现在正逐步转型，开始销售非新加坡和非亚洲书籍，以便人们也能将其视为购买最新畅销书的首选之地。

蔡先生补充道：“我们希望把它打造成一个充满活力、人们想要来参观、看看这里正在发生什么的地方，一个社区发展的地方。”

“我们也希望与CC合作，看看我们是否也能在他们组织的活动中与他们合作。”

丹戎巴葛集选区议员、新晋升的人力及贸易部政务部长傅策祥促成了这一决定。

傅先生说，蔡先生在成为该选区国会议员之前就是书吧的常客，他曾表达过对达士敦地区租金上涨的担忧，之后傅先生建议蔡先生竞标中峇鲁民众俱乐部的场地。

他补充道：“CC 管理层有自己的委员会来决定招标事宜，我只是建议总体方向应该是朝着能够将社区聚集在一起的空间发展。”

“我非常高兴获得这个奖项。阅读能够增进年轻家庭的感情。Book Bar 也支持本地文学发展。”

Foo表示，在他所在的集选区，有好几个团体，比如Shine Children & Youth Services，已经开始为居民开展阅读活动，包括为租房组屋里的孩子们提供阅读服务。此外，中峇鲁还有一个面向居民的故事收集项目。

“CC管理委员会认可书吧的提议，这很好。我努力的目标是鼓励大家进行更广泛的阅读。”

蔡先生表示，过去几年他最大的感悟是，人们对独立空间的支持日益高涨。他始终秉持着维护和创造一个温馨的“第三空间”的理念。

他扮演了新加坡书籍鉴赏家的角色，为那些不熟悉新加坡书籍的人提供建议，并承诺会继续进行“书虫式的闲聊”。

在摸索新的扩展模式的同时，他向老读者保证，他对新加坡文学和支持本地作家的关注和支持依然坚定不移。

“显然，同时经营餐饮和书店并非易事，”他感慨道。“成本总是很高。但我们乐在其中，也希望这里能长久发展壮大。”