A successful app creator in Malaysia is giving back to his community by opening a book cafe for families.
In the middle of the bustling shopping mall, Damansara Jaya’s Atria Shopping Gallery, there is a newly opened place of reprieve. One Afternoon is an equal parts café and bookshop with a variety of reading selections for all ages, imagined and owned by a local, Ben Lim. One Afternoon invites you to “step into [their] cozy haven, grab your favorite drink, and lose yourself in a world of stories.”
About Ben Lim
Ben Lim is an engineering student turned app creator. Lim has designed and sold several apps over the years, his most successful being MyTaman, a home security app that is widely used in residential areas and property developments across Malaysia. Lim is a self-proclaimed book-worm who saw the potential for a new business in his taman. With his app earnings, Lim set out to open One Afternoon in 2024.
One Afternoon
The inspiration for the café’s name fittingly came from a book. Lim was reading a story based in the Taiping township of Kuala Sepetang, where his father was born and raised. Sepetang translates to “one afternoon.” The name felt like an honor to his fisherman father and a romantic name for the book café of his dreams.
A Screen-Free Place for Families
Petaling Jaya is bursting with families who spend their weekends exploring shopping malls. There are plenty of shops to visit in PJ, but Lim felt that the quieter, more restful options for families were lacking. As a father, Lim wanted to provide a place for parents to take their children and spend some time together without screens.
When One Afternoon opened, many of the books housed there were from Lim’s personal collection, with his daughter’s books filling up the younger reading options. Both are avid readers and were quickly running out of space for their books, which found new homes at the café.
As news of Lim’s venture traveled through Petaling Jaya, the residents chipped in. In an interview with Vulcan Post Lim shares, “When I told [the community] I have a book café in the WhatsApp group, the donated books started sort of flying in.”
Library Meets Coffeehouse
In addition to enjoying books at the coffeehouse, One Afternoon also operates on a library system. Books can be borrowed and returned. Lim says the check-out system is still in progress. Right now, the process is manual — borrowers fill out the book’s information in a physical registry before they take it home. Lim hopes to use his background in app design to create a modern record-keeping system in the future.
It goes without saying that there’s more to the café than its book collection. One Afternoon offers artisan coffee, pastries, and homemade ice cream made by Lim’s wife. The menu has a unique appeal to parents because it features a bundling option. Coffee shops are often limited in drink offerings for children, so the bundling option allows the purchase of a coffee or tea for Mom or Dad and includes a sweet treat for their child.
Lim’s Vision
Lim has more ideas for One Afternoon’s future. While his focus remains on the Atria Shopping Mall, he hopes to expand One Afternoon’s space to include co-working spaces and other lifestyle opportunities.
One Afternoon has seen a lot of community support. Lim relies heavily on word-of-mouth reviews and return customers. Lim’s commitment to supporting Petaling Jaya is what keeps them coming back.
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Carley Bishop
Carley is an editorial lifestyle writer and aspiring novelist. She is based in North Carolina where she resides with her husband and their puppy, Daisy, and is a proud graduate of University of South Carolina. Carley is a lifelong bookworm who enjoys reading everything from the classics to modern romances. When she's not reading or writing, she enjoys traveling, getting outside and trying new recipes at home.
