A food court in Bedok has been bleeding money, having lost $250k in the past seven months alone.
Despite the challenges he is facing, however, second-generation owner Tommy Pang refuses to give up on the business.
Speaking about his journey running Bai Nian Food Court in an Instagram video posted on Aug 26, the 29-year-old entrepreneur said that the business lost $250k “just to keep the lights on in the food court”.
“We really cannot let it continue like this. If not, I really have no idea how we’re going to continue operating this space,” he added.
Tommy shared that just one month ago, a unit in the food court has been occupied by a Western food stall. However, the vendor decided to leave and forfeit their entire deposit — and it was a “big amount”.
“We actually wanted to find an Indian operator to take over, but we couldn’t,” he added.
He went on to explain that finding new tenants to replace those who have left has been a big challenge for the business and had resulted in him and his family coming up with new ventures to fill the empty spots.
Even so, it isn’t a guarantee the concept will work. A fried chicken cutlet stall they operated was “short-lived” as it didn’t do well and was subsequently shuttered. The space was then left vacant for months.
“We are not able to bring in new tenants to replace the old tenants that have left,” admitted Tommy.
Low footfall dealbreaker for potential tenants
In response to queries from AsiaOne, Tommy stated that a major source of loss for the business was a lack of customers patronising the food court.
He revealed that during peak lunch hour, the space, which can accommodate 400 to 500 diners, would only be about 10 to 20 per cent filled. Even less people visited during dinner time.
The food court only gets decent footfall on weekends as parents bring their children to the building they are in for enrichment classes.
The 29-year-old added that this was often a dealbreaker for potential tenants as they did not feel secure in setting up shop there.
When asked if he has spoken with his landlord about his struggles, Tommy said that he met with them on Tuesday (Sept 1) to explain the business’ predicament.
“They are quite open to help,” he said, adding that he had requested for a lower rental fee.
Sharing his plans for the future, Tommy said that he started posting regularly on social media in an attempt to promote the food court and boost business.
They are also running a promotion this month, where customers will get free hot drinks with purchase of any main from one of their stalls.
Diners can top up an additional 50 cents to make their drinks iced.
Located in ESR BizPark at Chai Chee, Bai Nian Food Court has eight stalls, including a drinks stall.
Seven units are occupied by Tommy and his family’s own F&B brands such as Bai Nian, Shi Nian and Hae! Mee, while one stall is operated by a tenant.
Some dishes at the food court are yong tau foo, pig leg rice and prawn noodle soup — all starting at $6.90.
The family also runs Dudu Cantonese Cuisine, a claypot specialist located at 10 Marsiling Industrial Estate Road 1. It relocated there from its original location in Eunos in July this year due to the coffeeshop’s master lease there not being renewed.
In the caption of the video post, the second-generation owner wrote: “If we looked purely at the numbers, the logical thing would be to stop trying. But a part of us still believes this place can become something better.”
“Maybe that’s optimism. Or maybe it’s a delusion. We honestly don’t know yet.”
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