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"This is not just about employment for them, it's about visibility, empowerment and creating a space where they can thrive. Our partners are not judged for being different but recognised for their strengths and given the opportunity to succeed in their own way," Lawrence Wen, General Manager of CHAGEE, commented.
CHAGEE has unveiled its first-ever signing store in Southeast Asia at the National University of Singapore’s Yusof Ishak House. Attended by HRO, the launch marked a bold step toward reimagining the F&B experience — one where inclusive design, sensory intention, and social impact take centrestage.
"An inclusive society is one where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. Initiatives like the CHAGEE Signing Store remind us that accessibility is not just about infrastructure — it is about mindset and intent," said Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), who officiated the event.
SPS Chua shared that Singapore’s journey towards greater inclusion began in 2007 with the first Enabling Masterplan. Nearly 20 years on, the country is now working through the fourth version — EMP 2030 — with a strong focus on going beyond basic support for persons with disabilities and special needs.
He explained that EMP 2030 centres on two key areas:
1. Expanding living options for persons with disabilities and special needs, and
2. Promoting inclusive employment, which he described as more than just having a job.
"I'm not just talking about having a job where you bring home the dough once a month. It's also about validation, empowerment, dignity, choice, it's also about a sense of social connectedness. It's much more than just earning a pay check.
"What CHAGEE and partners are doing today at this NUS store is significant in the sense that it behoves Singapore society to think about disability and not just focus on the disability of an individual, but to focus on the strengths that each of these individuals bring with them, to the workplace, to the community, to everyone else's live," SPS Chua concluded his speech.
The new tea bar has been designed for acoustic comfort and visual clarity for both baristas and customers, with cork-lined interiors that soften ambient noises, as well as an open brewing area that keeps front and back-of-house store partners to be visually connected, supporting clear, intuitive teamwork.
Two other outstanding features are the vibrant wall mural, designed by award-winning Deaf artist Chen Zi Yue (Angeline), and a custom-built flip chat wall — developed in consultation with SG Enable and SADeaf — which introduces basic sign language, allowing customers to engage with the Deaf baristas.
Other features include a mirror installed on the walls in the bar area for baristas to glimpse for customers who are in need of their attention or services, and even a tablet for customers to pen down their requests or even words of encouragement to the baristas behind the counter.
Speaking at the event, Lawrence Wen, General Manager of CHAGEE Singapore, said: "At CHAGEE, we believe tea is more than just a beverage. It brings people together and creates moments of connection. The Signing Store is an extension of that belief: It's about making connection more inclusive, more intentional and more human. This space was fully designed to support accessibility."
During a media Q&A session, HRO asked Wen about the inspiration behind launching the Signing Store, how it aligns with CHAGEE inclusivity goals, the store’s role in reshaping public perceptions of employability, and the support and training provided to Deaf partners. Read the excerpts here:
Q What inspired CHAGEE to launch a store fully run by Deaf and hard-of-hearing partners, and can you elaborate on how this aligns with the brand’s wider goals around inclusivity.
For us, it's not just about employment — it's about empowerment. And we have this concept in our own factory in China, along with three such stores. For us, our Signing Store is an elevation of our brand in China.
So, this store here in particular, is very different from the three in China. We wanted to make sure that we have a local, customised Signing Store that is suitable for the environment here.
To answer your second question — this is the start for us. We want to do a lot more. Deaf partners is one sector of civility, but there are many different parts of it as well. I would say this is an easier conversion for us, because we already have a concept in China. But it doesn't mean that we cannot do something beyond this. We want to — and Singapore, being a very important market for us, will be a testing ground for us to test these new concepts.
Q Beyond creating jobs, how does the Signing Store aim to shift public perceptions around the employability and potential of people with special needs?
So that’s really big for us in terms of allowing the public to understand that our soul partners here — in terms of productivity, in terms of efficiency, and interaction — they're no different to our normal stores.
This store is actually a very high-volume store for us as well. There are a lot of delivery orders, and our partners are more than capable of handling the high-volume during lunchtime and some parts of dinner — so we really want to showcase to the public that our partners, in that sense, are able to produce the same volume of things.
But this is a very suitable environment for them, because they are all working together with the same type of personality and people, and it’s actually helped them a lot. So I would like to say, so far at least, we have 14 baristas. We haven’t had any resignations, and we’ve been open for the last three months — it’s something that I’m very proud of as well, because it means that they are very comfortable working.
Q What support, training, or collaboration went into preparing Deaf partners for this store — and how might this model encourage other businesses to hire more inclusively?
Training was very different from our normal barista training. One of the stories that we always bring up internally is when we initially discussed about this concept, we brought over our trainers from China, and we thought that since they already know sign language, they can apply it directly and train our staff.
During the first session, we realised that sign language is different everywhere, and there are more than 300 sign languages in the world. Our general partners were not able to train, but we quickly pivoted, and we actually got the trainer to train one of our partners here. And now we can localise a lot of the training.
The training now is very customised for our Deaf partners in the sense that they are able to be in an environment [catered to it]. They have parts of the training with the core group, but they also have a special training that's designed for the Deaf partners as well, so they are able to integrate and at the same time be able to fully understand [the language].
ALSO READ: Fostering an inclusive workplace for persons with intellectual disabilities: Your how-to guide
Lead image / CHAGEE
From L-R: Sng Jin Soon, Director (Campus Services) of Campus Life, NUS, Josh Lye, Executive Director SADeaf, Jerome Wong, Store Partner, CHAGEE; Salahuddin, Store Partner, CHAGEE, Lee May Gee, CEO, SG Enable; Lawrence Wen, General Manager, CHAGEE Singapore.
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