At its peak, Japanese hawker chain Mentai-Ya once had up to nine outlets dotted across Singapore. The chain’s owner, 38-year-old Khoo Keat Hwee, also opened two cafes.
Now, none are left.
Just three weeks after announcing that he would be cutting down the number of stalls to just three, Keat Hwee abruptly revealed on Sunday (April 13) that all three stalls will be closed.
Posting on his Instagram Story, he wrote: “It hurts, losing everything. This failure’s been a nightmare, it’s damn painful.
“Failing everyone around, loved ones, supporters, friends, suppliers, workers. Tried too hard.
“But for sure I’ll survive, face my consequences and recover from here.”
Since March, Keat had made multiple online posts sharing his thoughts as he gradually shut down his outlets. One post — where he expressed regret in registering GST, which led to a higher selling price — went viral, as did another post where he griped about the “crazy F&B rental rates” in Singapore.
When contacted by AsiaOne, Keat Hwee, or Keat, as he prefers to be known, shared that the stalls were closed “from last week” and that he intends to take a break to, in his words, “reset, recuperate and restart”.
When asked what he meant by “tried too hard”, Keat expressed regret over not letting go of the business earlier, thus effectively cutting his losses, which he confirmed amounted to around $550,000 within two years.
He declined to comment, however, on his remaining debt or address earlier reports where he spoke about facing bankruptcy if he gave up the business entirely.
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Returning as an F&B consultant?
In another post on Monday (April 14), Keat shared that he might still create content to “help F&B friends out there”.
“I failed, others don’t have to,” he wrote, telling AsiaOne that he is considering making a return as a consultant to existing or budding food-preneurs.
Prior to opening Mentai-Ya in 2020, Keat had first dipped his toes in the F&B business with Tenryu Japanese Dining, which lasted from 2015 to 2018, according to a TNP report.
After racking up $120,000 in debt when the business failed, he worked as a Grab driver to repay the amount before deciding to try again with Mentai-Ya.
The former sales engineer told AsiaOne that F&B is his passion and despite getting his fingers burnt more than once, it seems he still can’t bring himself to walk away from it completely.
But for now, he says a break is what he needs.
“I don’t think I’ll restart any F&B business within the next few years. But my life and soul is all about F&B. I love food — providing good and affordable food to the public,” said Keat, who has been heartened by the outpouring of support from followers and former customers.
He shared that he will consider taking their suggestions to open a home-based business moving forward, but admitted to feeling “quite defeated” at present.
“Damn painful, this fall,” Keat professed.
It is painful not just due to the monetary losses, but emotionally as well, he said.
“[I poured] too much heart and soul into the business.
“I felt that I failed everyone around me; my loved ones, my team and my suppliers. But this fall will definitely make me stronger once again.”
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candicecai@asiaone.com
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