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Kenny Hills Bakers started out as a small bakery cum cafe in a tiny half-lot in Bukit Tunku, Kuala Lumpur in 2014, when avid coffee lover Au Tai Hon decided he wanted to serve up great fare for the local community. Today, Kenny Hills Hospitality Group, as it is now known, has set its footprint in eight locations with exciting expansion ventures in the pipeline, as Tai Hon’s son and company managing director Au Kai Zen shares with us:
As the second generation successor, was it always on the cards that you would be carrying on the family business?
Kai Zen: Not at all. I have a degree in Sports Medicine from the University of Hanzehogeschool, Netherlands. In the middle of the course, I realised I was more interested in business and even did a minor in Entrepreneurship. I decided to complete my degree but had already told my parents that I would be keener to learn the family business. I came back to Malaysia in April 2020, and we took it from there.
What is your role in the company?
My role as managing director is to ensure that the company’s vision for the next decade is realised. We currently have five Kenny Hills Bakers outlets in Bukit Tunku, Desa ParkCity, Ampang, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar Shopping Centre (kiosk). On top of that, we have Kenny Hills Coffee in KL East Mall, My Humble Bowl Restaurant in Bukit Tunku and Nourish by KHB at The Five, Damansara Heights.
We are also introducing several new and exciting concepts by next year, one of which is venturing into roasting our own coffee. My responsibility is to bring all these projects to fruition. Thus, I am very hands-on in establishing standard operating procedures, systems and also making sure that we get the right people on board to help us.
That is certainly a lot on your plate. What do you do to let off steam?
As anyone who runs a business will attest to — yes, I am 24/7 on the job, but in my spare time, I like working out and want to restart tennis. As a kid, I used to play competitively and even considered doing it as a profession!
Opening in Desa ParkCity was a smart move, seeing it’s such a popular neighbourhood. How did that decision come about?
We opened our second outlet in Desa ParkCity in 2017. We were on good terms with the developer and saw great potential in the project. It was also in line with our company’s feel — you will notice all our outlets are in family-centric neighbourhoods with a strong community feel.
You’ve relocated to bigger premises at The Waterfront, Desa ParkCity — why? What is the winning formula that has catapulted your business towards expansion?
We expanded because we needed more space! Our new premises allows us to double our current capacity. And with a bigger kitchen, we can expand our current menu, so look out for that!
As for our winning formula, I guess you can say that from the start, we have always believed in having great people and delivering a great product.
Kenny Hills Bakers
@ GF33, GF33A & GF35, The Waterfront @ ParkCity,
Persiaran Residen 5, Desa ParkCity, 52200 KL
Contact: +603-6419 5990
Opening hours: Daily, 8am to 10pm
