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“Business is so bad SDAs are ignoring us ’cos we’re empty” — Eateries See Thin Crowds Even With Dining Ban Lifted

The same restaurateur laments that people are already sitting 5m apart while another says he only made $77 one night.

The same restaurateur laments that people are already sitting 5m apart while another says he only made $77 one night.

The same restaurateur laments that people are already sitting 5m apart while another says he only made $77 one night.

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On August 10, differentiated dining-in rules kicked in as part of Singapore’s first steps to reopening the economy. Allowing up to five vaccinated diners per table marked the beginning of recovery for F&B establishments after another period of dine-in restrictions. But several restaurants 8days.sg spoke to have been met with a perplexing combination of empty dining rooms in tandem with a drastic drop in deliveries.

This led to an impassioned post on Facebook by the owner of bar and restaurant concept Jekyll and Hyde, Chua Ee Chien. He details his shockingly low take of “a grand total of $77 from one table that dined in” for Wednesday’s (Aug 11) dinner service. The repeated rounds of dine-in restrictions have also led to multiple periods of adjustment by owners and diners alike, leading to affected sales. “The time between each lockdown has been this limbo period, where people don’t know whether to go out or to order delivery. With two situations like this in 2021 alone, that’s four times where people have had to adjust, and four to eight weeks of absolutely dismal sales,” he laments.

8days.sg spoke to him, along with other restaurateurs with similar experiences at their own eateries.

1 of 6 Jekyll & Hyde: 10.30pm deadline for alcohol consumption killing biz

In his Facebook post, Ee Chien stresses the importance of music being allowed in restaurants as well as a relaxation of the time limit for alcohol consumption (which is now set at 10.30pm), especially for dual concepts like Jekyll & Hyde. “Music creates an ambience. Music isn’t meant to be the main focus, but it creates a vibe and atmosphere that people come to restaurants for,” he explains. “While there is concern that loud music might lead to people speaking louder [resulting in a greater risk of saliva distribution and virus transmission], restaurants are more than happy to comply with a decibel limit.”

As for allowing alcohol consumption past 10.30pm, he shares that “15 to 20 percent of the evening’s food and drinks come from sales during the time period of 10.30pm to midnight alone.” It also allows for “less restrictive table turns [that last longer than two hours, rather than a hour and a half] and a more pleasant dining experience all around”.

Currently, his restaurant’s takings are down by about 75 percent on average compared to before the pandemic. “We employ 13 Singaporeans, with a total salary and CPF contribution of close to $40,000 a month, which is $1538 per working day. Today, we made $77. Note that we haven’t taken rent, utilities, goods and other costs into consideration,” he adds in his Facebook post.

He continues, This isn’t a cry for help, as much as it is a rallying cry on behalf of myself and other restaurant and bar owners - please dine out if you can afford it, and if you’re fully vaccinated, or order delivery.

2 of 6 Pagi Sore: So quiet, boss can fry an egg on road outside eatery

Owners of restaurants in the CBD (Central Business District) we spoke to have yet to see any meaningful increase in business since dining in was reinstated. “Business is so bad SDAs (Safe Distancing Ambassadors) are ignoring us cause we are either empty or people are already sitting five metres apart,” comments Park Tan, the second-gen owner of Pagi Sore Indonesian Restaurant on a Facebook post.

“Compared to previous exits from lockdowns and heightened phases, this round seems incredibly muted. Even more so as we are located in the CBD (Central Business District),” he tells 8days.sg. “I think between [restaurant] owners and customers, everyone is just tired. Tired of interpreting rules, tired of having to continuously adapt to snap changes.”

He shows us an amusing video he shot on Tiktok frying an egg on the road outside his restaurant. “I did this video for a laugh, but it [reveals] a very grave issue,” he says. “I could never have done this [before Covid-19]. There would be too many vehicles or human traffic. Now, I did this and [I didn’t even get] a single weird glance.”

3 of 6 Roketto: Not open until next Wednesday

Chef Willin Low, who runs Singapore-inspired izakaya Roketto (its daytime alter ego is casual family restaurant Relish), decided not to open his restaurant located in Frasers Tower. “WFH (work-from-home) kills many of us in the CBD,” he explains simply. “We are watching the situation for WFH to ease before reopening Relish at Frasers Tower for lunch.” As for dinner venue Roketto, he’ll open it next Wednesday “as we know that the CBD is quiet, so we’d rather [open in] phases slowly and watch the situation.”

Relish’s other outpost at Cluny Court has also been “quiet” in the three days since reopening - with business down by some “35 to 40 percent”.

4 of 6 Ka Soh: Only one to two tables dining in for lunch and dinner

“My kitchen staff are just waiting around,” shares Cedric Tang, co-owner of Cantonese zi char restaurant Ka Soh (whose Outram Park outlet was awarded with the Michelin Bib Gourmand again this year).

“We only get one or two tables dining in for lunch and dinner now,” he says. “I feel that maybe Japanese restaurants, hotpots and Korean barbecue joints are the type of restaurants that people will visit first — it was like that previously when dine-ins were first allowed [after the ban].”

“It could be the case where a lot of people only just got their second jab last week, so a good segment needs another two weeks [for it to take effect] before they can dine out. But it’s quite a dismal situation where our delivery orders have also plunged,” he adds.

5 of 6 Grub cafe: Biz quiet, perhaps due to their younger crowd still being vaxxed

Co-owner of Grub cafe Amanda Phan also thinks that the demographic of diners who’ve just received their second jabs might be contributing to the slump. “We serve many young families at Grub, and that age group was the last group to be vaccinated,” she muses.

“We’re seeing a slight pick up [in bookings] for the weekend, but none of the surge that we saw in previous reopenings. We’ve even ramped up manpower in anticipation of [an increase in biz] — but it was quiet,” she adds. Though they’ve stopped delivering hot food since reopening for dine-in on August 10, their “cake deliveries have really plunged since pre-HA days.”

6 of 6 Famous JB 101 Firewokz: Deliveries for restaurants have also plunged

Another issue that restaurant owners highlighted was a significant drop in delivery orders — without a corresponding increase in dine-in customers even with the lifting of dining measures. Joanne Lau, owner of zi char restaurant Famous JB 101 Firewokz (there are two outlets in Singapore Science Park and Bukit Batok) says, “Delivery was good during [the circuit breaker period]. The first Phase 2 HA period, it decreased by 60 percent from [the circuit breaker period]. The second Phase 2 HA period, it decreased by 80 percent.”

“We used to do 9 to 12 deliveries a day over the weekend [last year], now it’s barely two to three a day,” she says. “After [so long], people are just cooking or getting delivery from the nearest location, or whichever platform is offering promotions.”

Photos: Famous JB 101 Firewokz, Grub, Jekyll & Hyde, Ka Soh, Pagi Sore, Willin Low/Instagram

For more info: Famous JB 101 Firewokz; Grub; Jekyll & Hyde; Ka Soh; Pagi Sore; Rocketto

Related topics

restaurants dining in ban dining ban dining ban lifted ka soh famous jb 101 firewokz jekyll and hyde pagi sore roketto grub cafe

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