March 8, 2009
Reopening soon
Eateries which closed recently have vowed to reopen once they find suitable locations with attractive rental rates
By Huang Lijie
They will be back.
Owners of five eateries which have closed in recent months, including Whitebait & Kale, Shiro and Brown Sugar, say their outlets will reopen.
They are, however, holding out for better locations and more attractive rental rates amid the current economic downturn.
Whitebait & Kale, a Mediterranean seafood restaurant formerly at Camden Medical Centre, closed last Sunday because its six-year lease on the ground floor of the building ended.
Most of the staff were redeployed to other eateries run by owner Keith Loh, including Bedrock Bar & Grill in Somerset Road and casual European restaurant Aerin's in Raffles City Shopping Centre.
Mr Loh, 35, says: 'We've been actively looking for a new home for Whitebait & Kale for some six to eight months. We came close to finalising on a couple of locations, but none was the right fit for what we had in mind, which is something with a coastal view or a tropical feel and alfresco seating.'
He adds that the launch of more retail buildings and food and beverage areas in the Marina Bay and Orchard Road areas next year would add to the pool of potential sites for reopening the restaurant, so he is in no hurry to relocate it.
He also sees the competitive rental rates during this economic downturn working in the restaurant's favour when it reopens eventually.
Customers who find themselves itching for the restaurant's tasty food, however, can patronise Oriole Cafe & Bar in Somerset Road, where familiar favourites from Whitebait & Kale's menu, such as its fish and chips, will resurface.
Similarly, Brown Sugar bistro, which shut its doors at the end of January when its venue, the StarDuS Clubhouse in River Valley Road, closed, has yet to find a suitable spot.
Mr Yuan Oeij, 38, its director, says his aim is to 'reopen the bistro by the end of this year' and he is 'in the process of talking to landlords regarding a few locations'. However, he is not rushing into things because he wants to ensure that the bistro's new location is one that is 'unique' and 'a pleasure to visit'.
He has been scouting for a new space for the restaurant since early last year when he learnt of the clubhouse's impending closure.
For now, Brown Sugar's kitchen team is training at fine-dining restaurant Prive at the Marina at Keppel Bay, where Mr Oeij is a director. The service team is working at the Prive Bakery Cafe.
Cafe and patisserie Twelve + One, which opened in Rochester Park last August, also closed temporarily in December.
Mr Andre Chalson, head of sales and marketing for Caprice Holdings, which owns the cafe, says the cafe's tucked-away location previously did not support the eatery's concept, which required a 'substantial amount of foot traffic'.
He adds that there are plans to reopen in October and already, several places in the vicinity have been earmarked as potential sites for relocation, although nothing is 'concrete' at the moment.
The same refrain is heard from Imaginings, which ran Shiro, a reservations-only fine-dining Japanese establishment in Greenwood Avenue that closed last September.
Ms Carol Ann Wah, 35, head of marketing and communications for Imaginings, says: 'We've had meetings with a few people to explore opportunities of a new location but nothing's quite set in stone.
'We do not want to rush into anything yet as timing is quite crucial when starting up a business, especially given the current economic climate where consumer confidence has been affected.'
Another eatery that shut recently is Western restaurant Friends@Chomp Chomp. The eatery closed last month because its venue, Serangoon Garden Village, is being redeveloped.
Owner Thomas Chiam, 39, says he is open to the idea of moving back to the same spot in about two years when the new building is launched.
He says: 'We started the Friends group of restaurants in Serangoon Garden Village so we have a strong sentimental attachment to the area.'
For now, he is busy scouting for locations for five Friends franchise outlets in neighbourhoods such as the Central Business District, Katong and Bukit Timah. He has another Friends @ Jelita restaurant in Holland Road.
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