SINGAPORE: OK Chicken Rice and Humfull Laksa has closed its outlet at Block 660A Edgedale Plains in Punggol, despite generating about S$1,000 in daily sales.
The announcement was made in an 10 August Facebook post by the stall’s owner, Daniel Tan.
He highlighted the stall’s positive reception, noting its 4.7-star rating on Google reviews and steady business performance.
Despite these successes, Tan said it was ultimately necessary to shut the outlet.
“There are far more factors in trying to balance quality, speed while paying staff fairly and juggling all the expenses including rental,” he wrote.
Speaking to Mothership, Tan explained that even with relatively brisk business, the stall was still losing an average of S$1,000 to S$3,000 per month after costs.
He added that sales at the chain’s other outlets were averaging around S$2,000 per day.
The biggest expenses remained rental and manpower.
Tan reassured that employees would not be laid off, but redeployed to other outlets within the chain.
The business is not leaving Punggol entirely, with another outlet located at Block 308C Punggol Walk at Foodgle.
The closure has highlighted growing concerns over rental costs for food stall owners in Singapore.
In May, a consultant and professional speaker raised the issue on Facebook, pointing out soaring rental costs and sparking discussion about social inequality and landlord practices affecting small vendors.
Separately, Zat Astha, Editor-in-Chief of The Peak magazine, explored the topic in a detailed opinion piece titled All Hail the Landlord: Spike in F&B Closures Demand Closer Look.
Zat painted an alarming picture of widespread closures across the F&B sector driven by rising rents.
According to the article, prime retail rents surged by 3.0% year-on-year in 2024, reaching S$27.80 per square foot per month, followed by an additional 0.6% increase in the first quarter of 2025.
These increases have contributed to the closure of over 300 F&B outlets per month in 2025, Reuters reports, representing more than ten business shutdowns every day.
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