Treehouse Restaurant
Treehouse Restaurant is a student-run cafe at Singapore Management University in Singapore, serving comfort food, beverages, and event space to SMU students, clubs, and societies from a single on-campus location.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersSingapore, Singapore
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Treehouse Restaurant does
Treehouse Restaurant (legally 'Treehouse cafe') is a privately held, student-run cafe operating a single physical location at Level 2 of the School of Information Systems, Singapore Management University, 70 Stamford Road, Singapore. Founded in August 2008 by three SMU undergraduates — Alicia, Elizabeth, and Desmond, with planning beginning in April 2008 — the business targets SMU students seeking an on-campus space for comfort food, social gatherings, and private events. The cafe is open Monday through Friday, 11:30am to 10:00pm, and is closed on weekends, public holidays, and SMU term holidays. Operations are supported by a small team of approximately eight people including an events manager, a floor manager, a designer handling email communications, and several part-time staff.
The cafe's core products are a comfort food menu built around pastas (Beef Bolognese Ragu, Field of Shrooms), panini sandwiches (Pesto Chicken, Portobello Mushroom), baked rice, curries, soups, and beverages including coffees, teas, shakes, smoothies, and beers. A cupcake line was introduced in October 2009, offered as set menus paired with tea or latte during afternoon tea sessions. Beyond food and beverage, the venue functions as a hosted event space for SMU clubs and societies, accommodating birthday parties, club gatherings, and live music performances (e.g., Soul2soul). Technology is minimal: a WordPress blog serves as the primary content and brand channel, email marketing is sent to a student subscriber list via the SMU Student Association domain ([email protected]), and a single pilot partnership with the Sight'd SMS coupon platform was used for the November 2009 Starry Nite beer promotion.
The revenue model is purely transactional — one-time per-order payment for food, beverages, and event bookings — with no subscription, licensing, or recurring revenue mechanics. Pricing is per-unit but not publicly disclosed. The business has no external funding, no parent company, and no disclosed financial metrics. Marketing relies on the WordPress blog, Facebook events, email blasts, campus mascot appearances, and live event programming. Visibility includes a December 2008 Business Times feature. The company description was heuristically inferred from the longest operating period documented in the data (August 2008 – November 2009); no operational evidence is available beyond that window.
Treehouse Restaurant firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Treehouse Restaurant
- Legal name
- Treehouse cafe
- Website
- https://treehousecafe.wordpress.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Treehouse Restaurant is a student-run cafe at Singapore Management University in Singapore, serving comfort food, beverages, and event space to SMU students, clubs, and societies from a single on-campus location.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Treehouse Restaurant industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Casual Dining Cafe
- NAICS
- Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Coworking Cafes / Work Cafes (THAFADAJ)
Keywords
Where Treehouse Restaurant is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Singapore
- HQ country
- Singapore
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Treehouse Restaurant business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Food and Beverage Sales: One-time transaction sales from menu items including mains (pastas, sandwiches, baked rice, curries, soups), sides, beverages (coffees, teas, shakes, smoothies), and alcoholic drinks (beers). Also derives revenue from hosting private events and parties for SMU clubs and societies.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Menu items without specific pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Treehouse Restaurant product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Treehouse Restaurant is a student-run on-campus cafe at Singapore Management University that sells comfort food (pastas, sandwiches, baked rice, curries, soups), beverages (coffees, teas, shakes, smoothies), alcoholic drinks such as beer, and desserts including cupcakes. It also hosts private events, birthday parties, club gatherings, and live music performances for the SMU campus community.
Product overview
Treehouse Restaurant is a student-run cafe at Singapore Management University offering comfort food including pastas (Beef Bolognese, Field of Shrooms), sandwiches (Pesto Chicken, Portobello Mushroom), and shakes. The cafe operates as both a food service establishment and event venue, hosting birthday parties, club events, and live music performances. It also features special dessert offerings like cupcakes with tea or latte combinations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Pastas Pasta dishes served as part of the cafe's comfort food menu, targeted at SMU students seeking filling meals on campus.
- Sandwiches Panini-grilled sandwiches such as Pesto Chicken Sandwich and Portobello Mushroom Sandwich served as part of the comfort food menu.
- Shakes and Blends Beverage offerings including blended shakes and smoothies such as Oreo Cookie Monster and Peach Smoothie.
- Coffees and Teas Hot and iced coffee drinks (Espresso, Americano, Latte, Mocha, Hot Chocolate) and assorted flavored teas.
- Cupcakes Dessert cupcakes available during tea sessions, offered in special set combinations with tea or latte.
- Event Hosting Birthday parties and event hosting for SMU clubs, societies, and student groups at the cafe venue.
- Live Music Events Live music performances featuring bands like Soul2soul, scheduled as part of the cafe's event programming for student entertainment.
- Treehouse Cafe On-Campus Dining The core on-campus cafe service providing walk-in dining at the SMU School of Information Systems during operating hours.
Quantifiable outcome
- Successfully operated for over a year by student founders with limited experience
Companies that use Treehouse Restaurant
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Treehouse Restaurant technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Treehouse Restaurant partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Sight'dminorFYP project collaboration with SMU students from SIS. Sight'd designed and developed a web application for coupon promotions and redemption via SMS. Treehouse participated as a pilot merchant for the Starry Nite promotion, using Sight'd's SMS-based coupon system for pre-ordered beer deals instead of paper coupons.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Treehouse Restaurant competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Ya Kun Kaya Toast: Heritage Singapore casual cafe chain serving toast, eggs, coffee, and simple comfort food across many outlets. Comparable as a higher-scale casual cafe operator targeting the same Singapore food-service market, though at a more transactional level.
- The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: International specialty cafe chain with strong Singapore presence, including on-campus and near-university locations. Comparable as a broader cafe incumbent competing for the same student casual-dining occasion.
- Starbucks: Global cafe incumbent with locations across Singapore universities and CBD areas. Competes for the same student 'third-place between classes' use case that Treehouse explicitly targets, though at a much larger scale.
- Toast Box: Singapore casual cafe chain operating at high-traffic locations including university campuses and malls. Comparable as a scaled Singapore cafe operator serving comfort food and beverages to broad demographics.
Direct peers
- Kith Cafe: Singapore casual cafe chain serving comfort food (pastas, sandwiches, brunch fare) and specialty coffee at neighborhood locations. Comparable in menu breadth, price positioning, and casual student/young-professional customer base.
- P.S. Cafe: Established Singapore casual-dining cafe known for comfort food, all-day brunch, and event hosting. Comparable in combining casual F&B with private event bookings in a relaxed, music-friendly environment.
- Common Man Coffee Roasters: Singapore specialty cafe with a community-driven atmosphere and full food menu (brunch, mains, beverages). Comparable as an independent-style cafe that doubles as a social/community space rather than a pure transactional coffee shop.
- Spinelli Coffee Company: Singapore casual cafe chain with an all-day menu of comfort food and specialty coffee. Comparable in casual cafe positioning, comfort-food menu, and Singapore market focus.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Treehouse Restaurant social profiles
Digital presenceTreehouse Restaurant financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Treehouse Restaurant leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Treehouse Restaurant funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Treehouse Restaurant M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Treehouse Restaurant
What does Treehouse Restaurant do?
Treehouse Restaurant is a student-run on-campus cafe at Singapore Management University that sells comfort food (pastas, sandwiches, baked rice, curries, soups), beverages (coffees, teas, shakes, smoothies), alcoholic drinks such as beer, and desserts including cupcakes. It also hosts private events, birthday parties, club gatherings, and live music performances for the SMU campus community.
Is Treehouse Restaurant a public or private company?
Treehouse Restaurant is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Treehouse Restaurant founded?
Treehouse Restaurant was founded in 2008. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Treehouse Restaurant based?
Treehouse Restaurant is headquartered in Singapore, Singapore, in the Asia region.
How does Treehouse Restaurant make money?
One revenue line is on record: food and Beverage Sales.
Who are Treehouse Restaurant's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Ya Kun Kaya Toast, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Starbucks and Toast Box. Direct peers are Kith Cafe, P.S. Cafe, Common Man Coffee Roasters and Spinelli Coffee Company.
Does Treehouse Restaurant have an API?
No public API is recorded for Treehouse Restaurant.
What industry is Treehouse Restaurant in?
Treehouse Restaurant's product category is Casual Dining Cafe. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAJ, Coworking Cafes / Work Cafes. Its NAICS code is 72251 and its SIC code is 5810.