Some coffee shops say new options allowing groups of up to 5 diners are 'a headache', too much trouble

SINGAPORE — After the announcement on Sunday (March 6) that coffee shops and canteens have new options to allow up to five fully vaccinated people to eat and drink on these premises from Monday, a number of coffee shops are still hesitant to adopt the measures. 

Of the six coffee shops that TODAY visited this week, operators at five of them said that it was not worth the hassle of taking up the new infection control measures, because there were extra manpower costs and difficulty in blocking off a specific area for groups of five, for instance.

On the other hand, one coffee-shop chain said that it is planning on submitting a proposal to allow more of its outlets to take in groups of up to five diners under the wider range of options for vaccination-differentiated safe management measures.

In response to TODAY’s queries, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said that 16 coffee shops and canteen operators have submitted proposals to take up the options so far.

The majority of applications are for the “area-bound vaccination-differentiated safe management measures”, SFA added, referring to one of the three new options where coffee shops may block off a specific area for groups of up to five fully vaccinated people to dine together.

Beyond that area, only groups of two diners will be allowed at tables and the coffee shop need not perform checks on the vaccination status of those diners.

The second option is a “time-bound” measure that allows groups of five to sit together only during stipulated timings between 5pm and 10.30pm, with vaccination checks and access controls in place at those times.

The third option involves coffee shops and canteens adopting both area and time-specific measures for groups of five diners, if they block off a specific area along with having access control and vaccination status checks during the specified timings between 5pm and 10.30pm daily.

Previously, groups of up to five fully vaccinated people could sit together only if coffee shops were fully blocked off from the public, with designated entry and exit points for checking vaccination status, among other requirements.

Operators interested in taking up one of the latest three options must submit a proposal to SFA to ensure that adequate measures have been put in place to safeguard public health.

HARD TO BLOCK OFF ONE AREA 

Ms Xiao Du, supervisor of Food City Food Court on Punggol Road, said that it is difficult to block off a specific area and conduct vaccination checks due to the porous nature of the coffee shop. 

“We are still figuring out the best solution for this,” she said in Mandarin.  

Similarly, Ms Yew Tze Lan, supervisor of P12 Coffee Shop on Compassvale Lane in Sengkang, said that marking out a small area would hurt business and she is happy maintaining the status quo since business has not been affected much by the two-person restriction. 

MANPOWER CRUNCH 

To Madam Tan, who runs a drinks stall at 7 Stars Coffee Shop along Anchorvale Crescent in Sengkang, adopting the new measures would mean extra work.  

The 62-year-old, who declined to give her full name, manages her stall single-handedly, including preparing the drinks, manning the cashier and washing the dishes. 

“I am already so busy taking care of everything. If I have to help conduct the checks, I will need to juggle between doing the checks and managing my own stall. In that case, who will do the dishes and watch over my stall?” she said in Mandarin.

Likewise, Mr Lin Jian Zhong, who runs the 24-hour Earnest Coffeeshop in Jalan Besar, said that he simply did not have the workers to conduct vaccination checks. 

Already, the 52-year-old has been rearranging his workers’ shifts to cover for two of his 10 workers who have fallen ill due to Covid-19. 

“I have friends who have rolled out the measures, but they told me it’s a headache. It’s too troublesome,” he said in Mandarin.

“For coffee shops in the neighbourhood catering to families, it may be worthwhile to do it. But here, where most of my customers are taxi drivers or night-shift workers, there’s no point,” Mr Lin added. 

‘NOT MUCH REASON’ TO ADOPT MEASURES 

Mr Tan Hock Heng, 55, supervisor of GM Food Centre at 198 Punggol Field, does not see much reason to adopt the new measures. 

Groups of five people have been permitted to eat and drink at the coffee shop since last December and there are two employees to conduct vaccination checks every day, with each worker on an eight-hour shift. The outdoor dining area has also been marked out using a plastic barricade. 

Mr Tan said that it took a bit of getting used to the arrangement when they first put up the barricade because workers and customers were not used to walking the extra distance to enter or leave the coffee shop. Previously, the porous nature of the area allowed people to move in and out freely.   

“At first, many customers would just lift up the barricade and walk through, so we had to tie the barricade tighter and place cartons of empty beer bottles in front. After a while, people didn’t do that any more,” he added in Mandarin.

He also said that he does not see much reason to adopt the new measures since they are already accustomed to the current way of operating in compliance with the rules. 

WHAT SOME COFFEE SHOPS ARE DOING 

Bgain 681 Old Street Coffee House, a coffee shop along Hougang Avenue 8, welcomed its first group of five diners last night, after it set up a new system  on Monday. 

A cordon has been put around a small section in front of a stall selling zi char (stir-fried) food, and patrons of the stall are allowed to dine in in groups of five from 5pm to 10pm daily, with staff members from the stall conducting the checks.  

Ms Jiang Li Juan, who supervises the coffee shop, said: “I think these new measures would help our zi char stall since more people can eat here now.” 

The 46-year-old also said that she would help to do the vaccination checks whenever she is free and she is satisfied with the arrangement for now. The coffee shop does not have enough people to do the checks should it extend the five-person rule to last the whole day. 

Chang Cheng Group, which runs several coffee shops around the island, said that its coffee shops will be adopting the area-bound and time-bound measures, to cater to patrons of the zi char seafood stalls during the peak periods. 

Workers from the seafood stall will be handling the access control and vaccination checks at designated areas.

WHAT COFFEE SHOP ASSOCIATIONS SAY 

Coffee-shop associations said that these latest measures are a welcome improvement from the previous ones put out last November. 

Mr Hong Poh Hin, vice-chairman of Foochow Coffee Restaurant & Bar Merchants Association, said: “These will save costs for coffee-shop operators because they only need to employ additional staff to conduct vaccine checks for a few hours.”

Mr Hong estimated a cost-saving of about S$1,800 a month, down from S$4,000 previously for this extra manpower.  

Mr Kenneth Lee, vice-chairman of Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar Owners Association, also welcomed the new measure, saying it would be easier for coffee shops to let in groups of five diners. 

“With the new measures, a family of four or five would not need to split tables anymore. They can all sit together and order other food to share and eat.” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY DARYL CHOO