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“We’re at the landlord’s mercy. Everything is slowly, slowly creeping up, and we have not changed our prices over the past few years. Being squeezed from both ends is not fun,” said a wine bar owner who is winding up his business.
Wine bar Wine RVLT and Western restaurant Elfuego are among the 3,000 F&B outlets closed in 2024. (Photos: Wine Rvlt and Elfuego by Collin’s)
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03 Feb 2025 10:48AM
(Updated: 03 Feb 2025 10:56AM)
Over 3,000 F&B establishments in Singapore closed in 2024, the highest in almost two decades since 2005.
A CNA report shed light on the closures, which are mostly attributed to dwindling business amidst higher operating costs.
“WE’RE AT THE LANDLORD’S MERCY”
One impending closure is wine bar Wine RVLT, which will shutter after its current lease ends later this year. It had been operating at Carpenter Street for almost eight years, and faced challenges in juggling higher overheads despite seeing fewer customers.
In an Instagram post, the bar’s owners announced that their business was “no longer sustainable and we’ve decided to call it quits”.
In an interview with CNA, Wine RVLT’s director and co-founder Ian Lim revealed: “We’re at the landlord’s mercy. We don’t have much negotiating power because we’re a single-location operator. Everything is slowly, slowly creeping up, and we have not changed our prices over the past few years. Being squeezed from both ends is not fun.”
Wine RVLT’s Instagram post also posed the question: “Well a good time for reflection. Did food get bad and not creative and not trying? Did service become indifferent and cold and pretentious? As an operator, I think we [are] still trying to improve but oh well.”
SINGAPOREANS SPENDING MORE OVERSEAS, WEAKER LOCAL TOURISM DEMAND
According to CNA, analysts attribute slow business in Singapore’s F&B industry to the strong Singapore dollar, which is pushing Singaporeans to spend more overseas instead. This is reportedly coupled with weaker tourism demand from China.
Two F&B brands at Jewel Changi Airport will close their outlets by this month: Peranakan food doyenne Violet Oon’s eponymous restaurant on Feb 3, and halal Western restaurant Elfuego on Feb 28. The latter is opened by local Western chain Collin’s.
But new F&B openings still outpace the closures, CNA reported, with 3,793 openings last year. Violet Oon is also setting up a new restaurant at the scenic Dempsey Hill, which will include “indoor and outdoor dining spaces set amongst lush greenery”.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
