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”. 1of3 Photo: Wine Rvlt The post elaborated that “during Covid so many else [sic] increased like nobody’s business. Chicken, veg, water, electricity, rent (douchebags) etc etc but post-Covid your landlords will NEVER tell you that rent should come down and still pushed for a 30 to 35% increment. BUT people stopped coming back and business didn’t increase 30 to 35%”. 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.” 2of3 Photo: Elfuego by Collin's Singaporeans spending more overseas, weaker local tourism demand According to CNA, analysts attribute slow business in Singapore’s F&B industry to the strong Sing dollar, which is pushing Singaporeans to spend more overseas instead. This is reportedly coupled with weaker tourism demand from China. Two local 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. 3of3 Photo: Violet Oon Singapore 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”.

SINGAPORE – While serving the first few years of his sentence for gang-related offences in Changi Prison as a teenager in the early 2000s, Mr Andyn Kadir felt resigned to a life of crime and violence. But after he was transferred to the former prison school at Kaki Bukit Centre, Mr Andyn, now 40, continued his studies, took religious classes and eventually passed his N-level examinations while serving his sentence. About a year after his release in December 2005, he landed a full-time job in the fitness industry. Today, the fitness professional gives talks to inmates and takes former offenders on trekking expeditions to raise funds for Mawar Community Services (MCS), a non-profit that he has been volunteering with since 2016. Mr Andyn and other former offenders will now get to share their experiences of life behind bars as well as life after prison with even more people, with the opening on Feb 1 of MCS’ new home in Geylang Serai. They will conduct tours and deliver talks to school and corporate groups at the new MCS Hub at 69A Onan Road, which features a mock four-man prison cell to give visitors an insight into prison life, and a preventive drug education exhibition. Ustaz Mohamed Basir Mohamed Shariff, programme director of MCS, said the organisation hopes to show the community, especially young people, how difficult prison life is through the replica of the bare prison cell.     “We want to tell the young people what drugs and being in a gang can do to you, physically, biologically (and) emotionally, and how it will destroy relationships. We hope to put across the message (that they should) not waste (their lives) in the cell,” said Ustaz Mohamed Basir, a former offender who was in and out of prison for 30 years. MCS, formerly known as the Muslim Counselling Service, was renamed in 2024 to expand its services – including counselling, motivational talks, and trekking and humanitarian expeditions – to former offenders of all races and religions. The registered society, which was established in 1978 and supports over 100 former offenders yearly to reduce the rate of reoffending, was previously based in an office unit in Changi Road. At the launch of the MCS Hub on Feb 1, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said that organisations in the community like MCS have played a big part in rehabilitating inmates and former offenders. “Prisons provide the framework, (and) organisations like MCS come in and provide the secret sauce,” he said. The results of this partnership between the Singapore Prison Service and community organisations have been good, said Mr Shanmugam, who added that the recidivism rate had come down from around 36 per cent to 37 per cent for the 2011 release cohort to about 20 per cent for the 2021 cohort. Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam viewing the mock prison cell at the MCS Hub on Feb 1.ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM The MCS Hub will allow the organisation to increase the frequency of its programmes and offer new ones, said MCS chairman Shaukath Ali at the hub’s launch. For example, a new computer classroom will enable MCS to hold robotics and programming classes for the children of former offenders in collaboration with ground-up initiative Byte.sg. The hub also has a community kitchen, a small auditorium, a counselling room and a reflection room. Dr Abdul Qader Al-aidaroos, chief executive of MTFA Darul Ihsan Orphanages, said many of its roughly 60 residents aged five to 21 have at least one parent who has been incarcerated, and they typically only meet them through teleconferencing. He plans to take the young residents to the mock prison cell at the MCS Hub to show them what life in prison actually looks like, in the hope that it “will encourage them to make wise decisions in life, and to appreciate the blessings that they currently have”. Those interested in attending the MCS Hub’s tours and sharing sessions by former offenders – which will begin in May – can register their interest at tinyurl.com/prisonlj or e-mail [email protected]

After getting into an accident along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE), two drivers ended up in a fight at the side of the road. A man who witnessed the altercation posted a video of the incident on TikTok on his account, @m_tharan. He told Mothership that it took place in the afternoon of Jan. 31, near the Potong Pasir exit. Two cars — a yellow Mitsubishi and a black Audi — had apparently gotten into an accident. The drivers alighted from their respective vehicles and began to argue. One man was later arrested for drink driving.   The altercation   In the video, the men could be seen quarrelling with each other on the side of the road. One of the men, in a white T-shirt, pointed angrily to the other man dressed in black. The other man responded by throwing a punch, which sent the first man's phone flying to the ground.   Video from @m_tharan/TikTok   Both men then began gesturing violently at each other. One of them repeatedly said, "Lai (come)." The man in black tried to shove the other man, but was held off by the other man. This turned into a grappling match.   Video from @m_tharan/TikTok   Towards the end of the video, the man in white was seen throwing a punch at his opponent.   Video from @m_tharan/TikTok   The police later arrived to break up the fight, the witness said.   39-year-old driver arrested for drink driving: SPF   In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed that there was an accident involving two cars along Jalan Toa Payoh towards Macpherson Road. A 48-year-old male car driver sustained minor injuries but refused conveyance. Another 39-year-old male car driver was arrested for drink driving and was subsequently conveyed to the hospital. He is currently assisting with investigations for voluntarily causing hurt, SPF said. Police investigations are ongoing.

SINGAPORE – Water supply to several households in the Lavender area that had been disrupted owing to a burst underground water pipe on Feb 1 has been restored. In an update on Feb 2, national water agency PUB said the water supply to the affected households was restored fully at 2.45am. “Repairs are still ongoing as excavation works are required to replace the affected section of the water pipe,” it added. It also said that it has deployed auxiliary police officers to help with traffic management as the repair works occupy part of the road at the Housing Board carpark next to Block 811 French Road. On Feb 1, one of the affected residents, part-time GrabFood delivery rider Ramdhan Sab’an, said he was heading to his home at Block 811 French Road at about 9pm when he found water gushing from the ground near his block. Mr Ramdhan, 39, who lives on the second floor, said: “I asked my wife to check whether we still had water at home, but she said the supply was cut off.” In video footage seen by The Straits Times, water can be seen gushing from the ground near a block of flats. The water run-off can also be seen flooding a section of the nearby road. A burst underground water pipe caused water supply to be disrupted to about 20 households in Block 801, Block 802 and Block 811 in French Road.ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY Responding to queries from The Straits Times, PUB said water supply to about 20 households in Block 801, Block 802 and Block 811 in French Road was disrupted. Among those affected was resident Reiz Kartikeyan, 48, who was mending a pipe in his toilet when the water supply stopped. The food and beverage worker first thought he was responsible for the disruption, but when his neighbours also reported that they had no water, he realised it was a larger problem. Mr Reiz said some residents even bought bottled mineral water in case the water supply did not resume soon. He said: “I went down to find water gushing from the ground. The water was about knee-high.” He added that he was worried about his father, who had difficulty walking. “For him to go to the toilet and not be able to clean himself is a big issue for him,” Mr Reiz said. Water run-off from the burst water pipe in French Road caused certain areas to be flooded.ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY The water supply started to return at about 10.20pm, but it remained intermittent, he added. By 11.17pm, workers had barricaded the affected area and were seen digging the ground where the pipe had burst. Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua said in a Facebook post that a resident had alerted her to the incident at about 8pm.   She said: “I’m grateful to everyone for jumping into action despite it being Chinese New Year season.” Works to fix the burst pipe were still ongoing at 11.50pm, she added. PUB is investigating the cause of the incident. Mr Ramdhan Sab’an, 39, collecting water near Block 811 French Road, where he lives, after a burst underground pipe disrupted his water supply.ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY

Would you pay S$2.70 for a cup of iced lemon tea at a neighbourhood coffee shop in Clementi? Well, one diner did and lived to regret it. He then took his complaint to Stomp.   Shocked by price   The diner said he bought the drink at the coffee shop located at Block 449 Clementi Avenue 3 on Jan. 16, days before the Chinese New Year period where any holiday surcharge kicked in. He claimed that he was "appalled" by the price and approached the staff at the drinks stall to explain the "exorbitant price". He said she "simply shrugged" and responded that "everywhere is expensive now". The diner also described his drink as syrup with water and a lot of ice. "It wasn't even real iced lemon tea," he added. He explained what angered him the most was how business owners supposedly "take advantage of consumers" by "using inflation as an excuse".   700ml cup?   When a Shin Min Daily News reporter visited the drinks stall to find out more, they were told by a female assistant that the price of iced lemon tea is S$2.70 as it is served in a large cup with a capacity of about 700ml. She explained: “Compared to other coffee shops, they may be cheaper, but they may use smaller cups.” She also said she had never encountered any customers complaining that their drinks were too expensive.   Shin Min fact checks claim   However, Shin Min found that what the staff claimed was debatable. Two coffee shops at Block 450 Clementi Avenue 3, which were about 100m away, both also sold iced lemon tea, but at cheaper prices. One coffee shop sold its iced lemon tea at S$1.80 for dine-in customers, and at S$2 for takeaway. A large cup cost S$2.60. The pricier takeaway option was to account for the cost of the takeaway container. At the other coffee shop at the same block, the price of iced lemon tea was S$1.90 for a small cup, and S$2.40 for a large cup. When the large S$2.40 cup was compared side-by-side to the S$2.70 cup, it was discovered that they were roughly the same size with the same volume of content. However, it was discovered that the coffee shop that sold the most expensive iced lemon tea offered its black coffee and black tea for the cheapest price, at only 80 cents each. The other two coffee shops sold their black coffee and tea between S$1 and S$1.20.