If it feels like you’re seeing fewer The Original Vadai outlets around Singapore, you’re not imagining it.
The once fast-expanding chain selling vadai, an Indian deep-fried fritter, has scaled back from 13 outlets to just eight, owner Stephen Suriyah told Kf Seetoh in a Facebook video uploaded by the food critic on July 3. He added that the downsizing was essential for better quality control and management.
Speaking to AsiaOne on Wednesday (July 8), Stephen said that the recent closures at Jewel Changi Airport, Upper Serangoon and East Point were due to the leases ending.
The remaining outlets will remain, as long as they don’t “start to bleed”, said the owner.
“We are not wrapping up the business. Just creating awareness that F&B businesses are dying in Singapore,” he told us, adding that he is “ready to downsize” and “start all over again” if his current business plan fails to work.
In response to Seetoh’s question about “what went wrong” with the business, the owner said that the main problem was its rapid expansion — they had “too many outlets”.
“At that point of time, the demand was there. So when we opened so many outlets, we actually had good responses,” he said.
The expansion also took The Original Vadai overseas, with the brand opening an outlet in Kuala Lumpur in 2023.
The outlet has since closed in March.
According to Stephen, he had expanded the business quickly because he was “ambitious” and driven by a desire to introduce vadai to more people.
“When I first joined my mum, when I told people I sold vadai, nobody knew what vadai was. They would ask what is that, and I had to explain to them that it’s donut-looking, there’s prawn on top and we eat it with green chilli,” he said.
Recalling a conversation after the business had expanded, the owner shared that someone once told him about a “crazy guy in Joo Chiat” drawing snaking queues for vadai — only for him to reveal that it was him.
The Original Vadai’s story began in the late 1980s, when Stephen’s mother Jumana Rani first introduced her version of prawn vadai at the Geylang Ramadan Bazaar.
In the early 2000s, the business took to joining pasar malams around Singapore, before setting up a brick-and-mortar shop at Golden Mile Food Centre in 2020.
Fast forward to today, The Original Vadai has multiple outlets nationwide, with Stephen and three other siblings managing operations and their mother still helping to prepare ingredients.
However, running so many outlets proved to be a challenge for Stephen.
“I am not a smart businessman,” he admitted.
“I learned along the way, a lot of painful mistakes and a lot of costly mistakes,” he continued, adding that he was the “most peaceful” running two to three outlets.
Speaking to AsiaOne, Stephen said that manpower is “a major problem” in Singapore.
“With the war increasing fuel prices, all ingredient costs have increased tremendously, leaving us with a very thin profit margin,” he added, pointing out that many F&B businesses have been announcing their closures.
“Something needs to be done,” he urged.
[[nid:733535]]
According to Stephen, he owns all of The Original Vadai outlets. The business has not been franchised — something he recognises could have helped with operations.
“There are so many things we need to micromanage. If we had franchised, the labour and all these kind of things is their problem. Rental is their problem [as well],” he said, though he stated that looking back, he still would not have done so in Singapore.
Stephen told AsiaOne that he may be opening more outlets overseas, and is currently “in talks with other potential franchisees”.
Elaborating on the difficulties, Stephen said that operating numerous outlets came with mounting stress and “financial burden”.
“So many expenses,” he said.
Reflecting on the lessons learnt from running the business, Stephen shared that he felt running things hands-on is the best approach, as he believes expanding and “trusting employees to do the job” may be “difficult”.
Another lesson is to take things on within your means.
“Investment is one thing, but sometimes I think we just need to stick to what we can do rather than be too ambitious,” he advised.
But despite the difficulties, Stephen plans on pushing forward.
“My team and I are ready to fight, strategise and come back stronger. We will still continue to explore other parts of Singapore and avoid oversaturation in one region,” he said.
The Original Vadai will be opening an outlet at Tengah’s Parc Point “very soon”, Stephen told AsiaOne, adding that perhaps having just one store in each part of the island would be “sufficient”.
[[nid:739682]]
carol.ong@asiaone.com
Read the full article here
