40 Well-Known S'pore Eateries That Closed Down In 2020

2020 would be known as the year that sorely challenged the tenacity of Singapore’s F&B scene. Already fiercely competitive, this industry had to deal with a drastic drop in revenue during the Covid-19 Circuit Breaker period, and safe distancing measures that limited their seating capacity.

While some business owners are still clinging on or even opening new outlets, other eateries have called it a day. Even established F&B players like Bakerzin, Imperial Treasure Nan Bei Restaurant and Antoinette have announced their closure, along with the ambitious Japan Food Town, Ministry of Food, and veteran actor Chen Shucheng’s well-loved but short-lived Chinese restaurant Teochew City. Hawkers were also not spared, with longtime stall Empress Place Beef Kway Teow winding up due to poor business.

Now that the year is coming to a close, we look back at the well-known F&B brands that have shut down, or announced their upcoming closure.

The American ice cream parlour chain was the first high-profile local F&B closure of 2020, when it announced on January 31 that it was pulling out of the Singapore market after 11 years. It had three outlets here, and was well-known for its customisable ice cream bowls, which are filled with ice cream that is chopped and folded on a frozen granite stone. It did not provide a reason for its closure.

Hong Kong wonton noodle chain Mak’s Noodle opened here to much fanfare in 2015. It quickly expanded to include another two outlets at VivoCity and Westgate, which were short-lived. It is set to close its remaining flagship outlet at The Centrepoint on February 28 next year, according to The Straits Times, which also reported that the closure came about as Mak’s Noodle was unable to come to an agreement for lease renewal with the mall management .

On October 1 this year, Korean chicken galbi chain Yoogane shocked its fans by announcing the closure of its last outlet at Westgate. In its Facebook post, the restaurant added that it was looking for a “suitable location” to reopen. On December 21, it revealed that it had set up a new outlet at Eastpoint Mall, which is currently open for business.

Homegrown cafe chain Bakerzin, which has been around for 22 years, went into liquidation in October 2020. It reportedly owed creditors over S$41mil. About $40mil of the debt was said to be owed to its parent company, who could no longer sustain the business due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to its liquidator, the company’s attempt to stay afloat by relying on Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake sales also fell through due to weak demand this year.

While most eateries were killed off by Covid-19 or unsustainable rental rates, local patisserie chain Antoinette shuttered in June 2020 due to an unusual reason. As its flagship outlet was located in a shophouse at Penhas Road, it had to pay a large levy to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to occupy the unit.

Speaking to 8days.sg, Antoinette’s owner-chef Pang Kok Keong said, “It’s getting very difficult to operate from our location at Penhas Road as the levy we pay has been increasing exponentially — in fact, it is even higher than the rent. We have reached a point where it is impossible to operate here, thus the decision to close Antoinette.” Chef Pang has since bounced back with a new Hakka noodle stall at Xin Tekka Food Court.

Is this goodbye, Charlie Brown? The cafe devoted to the beloved Peanuts character and his merry gang is winding up its Orchard Cineleisure outlet on December 31. While the cafe gave no reason for the shuttering in its Facebook announcement, sad customers flocked to the post to lament about the closure.

Most Singaporeans would be familiar with this unique restaurant, which offered diners Beijing fare and spectacular panoramic views of Sentosa and Mount Faber as it revolved on a grain silo. It temporarily closed on April 6 this year due to the Circuit Breaker, with plans to reopen on August 1. But it still fell victim to the pandemic, and ended up closing for good after 43 years without reopening.

Old-school Hainanese restaurant Mooi Chin Place at Landmark Village Hotel in Bugis is closing on December 31 this year. It has been around for over 80 years, and is popular for its chicken rice and Hainanese-style Western dishes like pork chop, as well as Peranakan-style fare such as curry chicken. When 8days.sg called the restaurant to enquire about the closure, an employee told us it was “the boss’ decision”, adding: “No business close lor.”

​​​​​​​Photo: Tripadvisor

After its three-year-lease was up in June this year, restaurant-bar Rookery closed its best-performing CBD outlet at Capital Tower due to Covid-19. Its owner, former DJ Daniel Ong, told 8days.sg that he incurred business losses of “a couple hundred thousands” after the coronavirus outbreak. Rookery currently has one outlet left at China Square. Earlier in March, Daniel also made headlines for his Instagram post in which he lamented about the difficulties of being a small business owner, and called for landlords to “give us a fighting chance” by waiving rent for two to three months.

Founder Bak Kut Teh’s second-gen boss, Nigel Chua, caught flak in July this year when he issued a public plea for support to save his struggling business. In photos (which were shot earlier during better times) that were widely circulated by the local media, netizens noted Nigel’s expensive Audemars Piguet watch, leading to criticism online about his allegedly lavish lifestyle. Since the controversy, Founder has shuttered its Bugis branch, though it is opening a franchised outlet in Chengdu, China.

The Jay Chou-endorsed sandwich chain Liang Sandwich Bar suddenly closed all its Singapore outlets in February this year, though it was just the beginning of an F&B drama. The brand’s master franchisee for South East Asia, Liang Group of Companies, later released a terse statement to explain that the “sudden closure of all outlets in Singapore was made solely by the local franchisee without proper consultation or authorisation from us or the Brand Principal”, and that the local franchisee has been “censured”. But the group added that it is planning to reopen Liang Sandwich Bar under a new name called Liang Crispy Roll in Q4 2020. So far, no new outlets have been opened yet (perhaps due to Covid-19?). Watch this space.

After 16 years in business at Ngee Ann City, Imperial Treasure Nan Bei Restaurant unexpectedly closed on June 8 this year. It was popular for its Hong Kong-style dim sum, and Northern and Southern fine Chinese dishes. A marketing rep for Imperial Treasure told 8days.sg that it had shuttered the restaurant as its tenancy agreement had ended, adding: “The management was reviewing whether to extend the tenancy at the beginning of the year. They later came to a decision not to renew with the announcement of circuit breaker. This is so that the management can focus our efforts and resources on other outlets.” Staff who were working at the Nan Bei restaurant were “transferred to other outlets to support business operations”.

Wisma Atria food enclave Japan Food Town suddenly closed in March this year. A tenant, speaking to 8days.sg on condition of anonymity, said that the eateries there were given four days to move out after rental negotiations between the food town’s management and landlord Isetan fell through.

Some eateries have shifted to other locations. Tonkatsu restaurant Ginza Anzu moved to the newly revamped Great World City, while popular saba fish specialist Sabar has an outlet at the new Don Don Donki JCube’s food court. The well-loved Rang Mang Shokudo ran a short-lived, now-defunct outlet at Don Don Donki City Square Mall food court. Nabe Seizan had two other offshoot daifuku and uni ramen stalls within food park Picnic, which was located at Wisma Atria, but has since also closed down (see below).

Another Wisma Atria food enclave casualty of Covid-19, Picnic closed on Oct 25 after four years. Other than Nabe Seizan’s daifuku and uni ramen concepts (see above), the enclave also housed beloved local burger brand Omakase Burger, which is owned by Picnic’s boss. OB has since opened a new standalone eatery at Orchard Central, along with a new dine-in outlet for its sister Greek eatery, Supergreek. It also has an express concept called Omakase Burger Express, with outlets in Toa Payoh and Bukit Timah.

Italian woodfired pizzeria Modesto’s closed its two outlets in May and June 2020 after 17 years at The Elizabeth Hotel and 23 years at Orchard Rendezvous Hotel respectively. Its owner, Ashok Melwani, told Channel NewsAsia that he had decided to call it a day as he predicted he would bleed money if his business continued. His restaurants were heavily reliant on tourist footfall, which had stopped due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. He had to lay off his staff, saying: “I cried at home the night I gave out the [retrenchment] letters.”

Photo: Google Maps

The beleaguered online grocery and food delivery service opened its ambitious brick-and-mortar supermarket, Habitat, at Boon Leat Terrace in 2019. It shut temporarily on Feb 10 this year due to reduced footfall after the Covid-19 outbreak. But according to The Business Times, it struggled with high overhead costs to keep the supermarket running, and eventually closed for good.

Opened by the ANA Group at Changi Airport’s Terminal 1 and 2, the Japanese food enclave lasted for two years before falling victim to Covid-19 travel restrictions, which adversely affected its business. In its last days leading up to its November 30 closure, the food hall gave airport and airline staff a 20 per cent storewide discount to thank them for their support.

In June this year, the Starker Group — which ran seven bars here with live entertainment — announced that it was ceasing operations for all its outlets. Calling the move a “difficult decision” in its announcement, the group also seemingly hinted at a potential comeback when it stated in the same post “goodbye, for now”.

After 19 years, popular Japanese buffet restaurant Kuishin Bo called it a day on April 6, 2020, just before the Circuit Breaker started. While no reason was given for the closure, the pandemic had hit buffet restaurants hard as they are not takeaway-friendly, and had to switch to an a la carte concept instead of displaying their dishes.

Just five months after opening, the sister restaurant of popular nasi lemak specialist The Coconut Club unexpectedly closed down in Jan 2020 without giving a reason. It served refined Peranakan-style cai png. The closure came months after the two eateries’ co-owner, Lee Eng Su, passed away suddenly in his sleep at the age of 40 in September 2019.

Despite being a popular dining destination, Muthu’s Curry at Dempsey closed for good in May this year. No reason was given for the closure. There are still two other Muthu’s Curry outlets at Suntec City and Race Course Rd currently in operation.

At the height of its popularity in Singapore, local restaurant chain Ministry of Food had 80 outlets here offering Asian and Western concepts. By March 2020, it gradually shut down all its branches after its owner, restaurateur Lena Sim, ran into financial woes. According to The Straits Times, she was sued in 2017 over a failed business deal and had her assets frozen by an injunction issued by the courts. She also told the national broadsheet that as a result of the freeze, she was unable to pay her landlords and food suppliers, which led to MoF’s subsequent closure.

This food court on the fourth floor of Marina Square is well-loved for its bird’s eye view of Marina Bay. It closed at the end of November this year, apparently due to poor business and high rental costs.

Veteran actor Chen Shucheng opened his restaurant Teochew City in June 2018. While it enjoyed popular reception from the start, Covid-19 and the Circuit Breaker proved to be a challenge for the restaurant, which served banquet-style Teochew dishes that are more suited for dining-in. Its location in an industrial area also meant that takeaway business was slow, which convinced Shucheng to close his restaurant in April 2020. “Since our rental agreement was expiring anyway, we took the opportunity to shut the restaurant and stanch our ‘bleeding’ while we’re still in the black. We didn’t want to prolong this unnecessarily,” he shared with 8days.sg. He has since opened a new takeaway-friendly F&B biz, a bubble tea shop called Meme Xpress in Toa Payoh Central.

Despite opening only in 2017, this Katong bakehouse gained a reputation among foodies in the East for its delicious array of European-style breads baked in a woodfired oven. It announced its permanent closure on August 27 without giving a reason.

Hailing from Osaka, this chain with over 170 branches in its native Japan opened an outlet here at Clarke Quay in 2018. It specialises in kushikatsu, a popular Osaka street snack consisting of fried skewered meat and veggies coated with panko. Unfortunately, the closure of nightlife establishments for the Circuit Breaker made Clarke Quay a ghost town. Without giving an official reason for its closure, the eatery quietly shuttered on November 16.

Mod Taiwanese casual diner The Salted Plum closed its two outlets at Suntec City and Circular Rd on December 13 after four years in business. In its Facebook post, it said that 2020 “had been a challenging year for us”.

Indian fine-dining restaurant Rang Mahal’s casual concept at Naumi Hotel closed in April, reportedly due to dwindling business caused by Covid-19.

The five-year-old Cantonese tapas bar at Boon Tat St was forced to close down on November 15 as they explained that their landlord had insisted on “pre-Covid rent”. The bar stated on Facebook that “our business has become unviable due to the large percentage that rent will take up”, though they are now looking for a new spot “with a good landlord” to reopen.

After nine years, homegrown Italian-American cafe chain Spruce closed its scenic Old Fire Station outlet in Bukit Timah on December 27 to make way for the “National Park Board's future developments”, which includes a visitor centre. It still has two other operating outlets at Bukit Batok and Phoenix Park in Tanglin.

According to Tamil broadsheet Tamil Murasu, one-Michelin-starred restaurant The Song of India has quietly closed. No reason was given. According to a CNA Luxury report, its longtime head chef Manjunath Mural left the restaurant at the end of August after 14 years to open a new casual restaurant at Beach Road called Adda, which will serve neo-Indian cuisine.

The cake-centric cafe, opened by its chef-owner Juwanda Hassim, has been operating at Fort Canning for 10 years. In June this year, the cafe announced on its website that “due to the latest Circuit Breaker mandate we have been told by the authorities to remain close (sic) till they inform us otherwise. Thus we will not be reopening, taking any online, takeaway or delivery orders.” It closed permanently when its Fort Canning lease ended in July. But good news for the cafe’s fans — it is reopening in Jan 2021 in a new space at Aliwal Arts Centre.

The fine Japanese sushi restaurant, which moved from Mandarin Gallery to Mohamed Sultan Rd, closed on Apr 30, 2020. The Business Times reported that the closure was due to poor response for takeaways during the Circuit Breaker period, when dining-in was prohibited. Another sushi concept, Sushi Ayumu, opened in its place, while Hashida Sushi’s namesake owner-chef, Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida, set up his own Hashida Private Dining at OUE Social Kitchen at Downtown Gallery.

Photo: instagram.com/topdoghatch

Opened by Australian celeb chef Luke Mangan on the 55th floor of Ion Orchard mall, this mod Australian restaurant closed temporarily on April 2 for the Circuit Breaker, though it sadly never reopened.

Some might remember this Sichuan hotpot joint as the quirky Clarke Quay restaurant that served Hello Kitty-shaped soup stock, and Barbie dolls draped in meat dresses. Unfortunately, it closed down in February this year, just before the Covid-19 pandemic worsened in Singapore. No reason was given for the closure.

The one-Michelin-starred French restaurant, helmed by eponymous French chef Vianney Massot, temporarily ceased its operations when its Hong Kong Street lease expired in July this year, though there are no immediate plans to reopen. On its website, the restaurant said: “In a post COVID-19 world, the intimate space that we occupied at Hongkong St is no longer compatible with our vision of what Vianney Massot Restaurant can be. Although we are excited about the opportunity of finding a new address, we will deeply miss the memories we created with you at Hongkong Street.”

After seven years at an underground spot beneath Ann Siang Hill, Operation Dagger bar shut its doors on October 31. But it quickly reemerged as a pop-up concept at the Straits Clan on December 1 under its head bartender Thomas Girard.

Batman can’t save the day for the DC Comics Super Heroes Cafe at Marina Bay Sands. It announced on June 17, 2020, that it was closing permanently after five years in business there. It also explained that it had ended its tenancy at MBS during the Circuit Breaker period.

It only opened in August this year, but local bubble tea joint Beautea’s second outlet in Toa Payoh, opened by viral Song Joong Ji-lookalike BBT hawker Zhou Zhen Yang, has quietly closed without any announcement. Competition is fierce at its location along a stretch of shops in Toa Payoh Central, which had six other bubble tea joints including Gong Cha, Liho and the Chen Shucheng-owned Meme Xpress.

Struggling hawker stall Empress Place Teochew Beef Kway Teow announced on March 13 that it was shuttering its shop at Maxwell Food Centre for good. The closure comes just slightly shy of a year, after the stall moved there from its longtime Siglap address last May. The business is run by father-and-daughter David and Melissa Lim (pictured), who are related to the family behind the famed Original Hock Lam Street Beef Kway Teow chain (which incidentally also closed permanently last year due to “ever-increasing manpower issues”).

Melissa, a former science teacher who left her MOE teaching job to become a hawker, told 8days.sg that “it doesn’t make sense” for her CBD stall — which already had difficulty attracting customers due to its obscure corner location — to continue when most of her office crowd regulars were working from home.