“What About People With No NRIC?” Restaurant Owners Cheer 5-Pax From Same Household Dine-in, Concerned About Enforcement

Cheer mixed with slight trepidation at potential enforcement issues probably best characterizes the feelings of F&B runners 8days.sg spoke to about the relaxation of dine-in curbs that take effect from today.

Fully vaccinated people from the same household can now dine out in groups of up to five at eateries, with the exception of hawker centres and coffee shops, as the latter cannot carry out comprehensive checks on all diners.

Soft recorded music can also be played at F&B outlets, something that has been, well, off the menu since June 18. Live music and entertainment however remains off the table.

8days.sg asks six restaurateurs for their reactions to the new rules: Do they see light at the end of a long, long tunnel? Are they worried about errant diners trying to pull a fast one about their um, living arrangements, similar to how some had previously tried to fake positive vaccination status ( reacting nastily when caught)? Read on to find out.

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Most restaurant owners 8days.sg spoke to naturally welcome the rule change. Howard Lo, co-owner of the Empire Eats Group (whose portfolio includes Standing Sushi Bar and Tanuki Raw), says, “I’m glad the government is starting to take baby steps towards normalcy. It’s good that they’re tackling the two most contentious things so far – splitting up people from the same household and banning recorded music.

However, he also expresses concerns over how the new rules regarding dining as a household of five will be enforced. “We don’t have clear guidance on how to ensure that people are from the same household,” says Howard. “[The Ministry of Health] has stated that they would crack down on customers and close restaurants, even for a first offence.”

“Are we supposed to check the address on everyone’s NRIC? What about [work] pass holders who don’t have an address on their card?” he says.

Expats aren’t the only group without proof of address. A poll on the Singapore Restaurant Rescue Facebook group (which has close to 84K members) highlighted some other groups that might fall by the wayside. These include children under the age of 15 who are not yet eligible to register for an identification card, as well as foreigners staying with family for the holidays.

Some on the group suggested using the Singpass app (through which you can display info about your kids), while others simply voted for “No idea yet”. F&B owners interviewed say they’ll rely on checking customers’ NRICs for now while awaiting further clarification from the authorities.

Unlisted Collection’s Loh Lik Peng echoes Howard’s point about seeking “further clarification” on verifying the addresses of household members, including foreign diners without addresses on their ICs. But that does not dampen his optimism. “Progress! I am happy we are moving forward, even if it’s in inches and not yards yet,” he enthuses.

He reports “some uptick in reservations, though not a dramatic increase” throughout his restaurant empire, which includes the likes of Burnt Ends and Restaurant Zen, the latter newly-minted with three Michelin stars. “I think that will only come with more liberalisation of the dining of fives to non-household members [as well],” he says.

“We did see a slight increase in bookings for five, but not really significant as it’s households only”, reveals Alan Lee, chef-owner of seafood purveyor and restaurant chain Greenwood Fish Market. He’s more concerned about the customer reception while restaurants grapple with checking diners’ addresses.

“New guidelines that are untested will always throw our operations off. There are bound to be issues. Some customers will try to wing it, or argue their way through. It’s the same with all new guidelines,” he says. “This will also lengthen check-in times [for customers entering a restaurant], causing a longer queue, which in turn means more effort to ensure social distancing.”

“I feel it's very disruptive, and not the best stop-gap measure as we have been struggling to follow the multiple guidelines throughout the pandemic,” he says. “As for music, I don’t think it helps operators in a major way, but it does make the environment much more pleasing for guests.”

“Maybe it’ll be good to calm guests down,” he muses wryly.

Chef Willin Low, who runs Singapore-inspired izakaya Roketto (which is casual family restaurant Relish by day), takes potential teething issues in stride: “I feel that it is extraordinary times, and it requires extraordinary effort from everyone.” He also gives us his take on unruly customers who don’t want to show proof of their addresses. “If they refuse, we won’t seat them. If they are abusive, we call the police,” he explains simply.

The gripe one restaurateur has about the cap-of-5 diners relates to households that simply have bigger families. Eric Chan, a post-production video producer who just opened stylish music bar Vertigo 26 in the Mint Museum of Toys feels the pain because it cuts close to home. “Why five? The number shouldn’t matter if they live together,” he reasons. “My brother-in-law has five kids and his family hasn’t been able to eat out together since the pandemic started,” he laments.

As for being able to once again play music for diners, Eric (right) is certainly more upbeat. “This is the news we’ve been waiting for since we opened the doors to our customers [on Aug 10],” he tells us affably. “We’ve had a lot of customers who come by and enjoy the vibe. But they’ll always tell us ‘We’ll come back when the music is back.’” Indeed, he shares that he’s seen a “slight uptick in bookings”, though he reckons it's too early to say if the return of music will make a huge difference long-term.

Eric is thankful his bar uses turntables. “We have a good sound system,” he shares. “ We can’t go very loud, and we don’t want to because we want customers to be able to have conversations.”

Howard of Empire Eats Group also has few concerns about Adele raising the overall decibel levels in his restaurants. “With music, we control the volume so we are able to use our best reasonable judgment on how loud to play it. And if an SDA (safe distancing ambassador) says it’s too loud, we can change it immediately”.

Bartender and co-owner of gritty cocktail bar No Sleep Club Juan Yi Jun (right) welcomes the return of recorded music as well. “The music is a big win as it is a major factor in any dining experience so we’re grateful for that,” she says.

She’s also more than happy to take the trouble to check diners’ addresses. “It might be tricky, but any sign of opening is a good one for us,” she says. Her main concern, like others interviewed, comes from the stress of additional measures to which F&B joints have to adhere.

“With all restrictions, the things that business owners like us struggle with is not so much the rules, but the way rules are enforced. Right now we have safety ambassadors checking in two to three times a day, and with dire consequences, it adds additional stress to the team and the customers,” she tells us. “Our job is to keep customers as happy and comfortable as possible during their time with us and it’s not always easy in this climate.”

She adds, “However, we’re grateful and happy for the announcement that came earlier than expected, so at this point we are really not complaining.”

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Photos: Empire Eats Group, Unlisted Collection, Greenwood Fish Market, Alvin Teo, No Sleep Club, Unsplash/Deepika Murugesan