The past few days have been filled with a string of bad news. With the closure of popular patisserie Antoinette and seafood restaurant The Pelican, there can’t possibly be anything else worse, right? Sadly, we are wrong.

The Fabulous Baker is the next dining establishment to announce its closure and their last day will be on 11 July 2020.

Before the restaurant closes, they will be serving their well-loved food and bakes for the last time.

They will be reopening their doors on 27 June 2020, Saturday and will be open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 8.30am to 5pm till their final day on the 11th of July. You can also order from them online and they will be providing islandwide delivery.

If you’ve been a loyal fan of The Fabulous Baker Boy, do pop by one last time to support them before they close for good.

This year hasn’t been a good one for anyone, and the F&B industry in Singapore is one of the hardest-hit sectors. This has caused many well-loved eateries to close their doors.

Joining the other eateries that have shut down in Singapore is The Pelican, which will officially cease operations on 30 June 2020.

The Pelican will not be reopening in phase 2 along with the other F&B outlets.

This popular dining establishment had been a popular spot for fresh seafood and hearty mains that were great for any occasion.

We are sad to see them go and we hope that the rest of the eateries in Singapore will continue to stay strong during this trying period.

Joining the many dining establishments that have closed down in 2020 is DC Super Heroes Cafe at Marina Bay Sands.

The 5-year-old themed cafe has been a popular spot for both children and adults to enjoy a meal inspired by their favourite superheroes.

Unlike many of the other eateries in Singapore that have closed down due to the impact of the pandemic and Circuit Breaker, DC Super Heroes Cafe mentioned that it will be shutting its doors due to the end of its tenancy.

In a heartfelt Facebook post, they thanked their customers for all the support and love over the past 5 years.

We are glad to know that their Takashimaya branch will still be around and will be open for business again in Phase 2 on 19 June 2020. However, as mentioned in their Facebook post, their Takashimaya outlet will be transitioning to a new brand.

The day we’ve all been restlessly waiting for has come, and Singapore has finally exited the Circuit Breaker.

However, before we dash out of our homes in euphoria and attempt to carry out every single activity we’ve been waiting to do, we need to understand that our lives from now onwards will be a long stretch from what it previously used to be like.

As we rev our engines and restart our work towards normalcy, we have to remember that our society isn’t the same place that we left behind before we entered the Circuit Breaker.

Our economy is in shambles and Singapore will be entering a recession this year. A dark, ominous cloud looms above our heads, fuelled by a significant amount of uncertainty, especially over the duration and intensity of the period. Singapore’s GDP growth forecast for 2020 has been revised downwards to -7% to -4%, the lowest in Singapore’s history.

How long will we be stuck in this rut? How bad will it be? What can we do moving forward to prevent things from getting worse?

While you may think of yourself as a small speck in Singapore’s 5.6 million population, every effort counts and we all need to work together to save our little red dot. Don’t know where to start? Here are 6 ways in which you can contribute to getting Singapore back on her feet.

AVOID DELIVERY SERVICES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND ORDER DIRECTLY FROM THE F&B BUSINESS ITSELF 

While delivery apps like GrabFood and Foodpanda are undoubtedly a convenient option, placing an order via them may be harming your favourite eateries more than helping them.

These platforms charge a whopping 20% to 40% commission for regular deliveries and 10% to 20% commission for self pick-up orders. To make up for the loss, some eateries tend to jack up their prices, but this usually ends up deterring diners from ordering from them. You can read about all this in detail here.

It is pretty hard to eliminate our usage of such apps completely as there are instances where it is the merchant’s only delivery option or it is inconvenient for you to takeaway from the eatery itself. However, as much as possible, we should try to minimise our usage of these platforms whenever we can to support our local establishments. Check out Facebook groups such as Singapore Restaurant Rescue and Hawkers United — Dabao 2020 to find out which restaurants and hawkers you can order directly from. 

SEND YOUR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES SOME FOOD

We know it’s a bummer that we still can’t really hang out with all our friends and we sorely miss them. One way to let them know that you’re thinking of them is to send them food. Aside from making your friend happy, you will also be supporting local businesses as well. That’s killing two birds with one stone!

You can order meals from your favourite restaurants that offer islandwide deliveries in Singapore, send them a pint of ice cream or two, or your favourite Basque Burnt Cheesecakes.

Mala instant noodles and Suan La Fen are all the rage in Singapore right now. Order a carton of the popular Mala Oden to send to your friends and family.

Feeling fat from pigging out during Circuit Breaker? Try the best slimming coffee in Singapore from Mskinny.

LEAVE A TIP WHENEVER POSSIBLE 

Though Singapore doesn’t have a tipping culture, there isn’t anything wrong with giving a tip once in a while to spread some happiness and make someone’s day. The next time you order something or head down to dabao something from the chicken rice auntie near your house, tell the merchants or delivery person to keep the change. It may be a minuscule gesture, but every small step counts in helping our local businesses.

#SAVEFNBSG AND VISIT YOUR LOCAL HAWKERS CENTRES AND EATERIES 

The F&B scene in Singapore is in absolute ruins right now. With eateries not being able to allow their customers to dine in and having to switch to delivery and takeaway options, sales have taken a plunge, leaving these poor businesses in a sinking ship that’s close to becoming fully submerged.

We’ve already heard of a number of businesses that have given up on the battle and closed down to cut losses. It would be awful if more of such dining establishments follow suit and we should do as much as we can to protect the remaining ones.

So, whenever possible, support our hawkers and restaurants by patronising them. It doesn’t have to be a daily affair, but we can all attempt to do so whenever convenient.

#SUPPORTLOCAL AND ORDER SOMETHING FROM HOME-BASED BUSINESSES OR HOME-GROWN BRANDS 

We must not forget that aside from our brick and mortar stalls, home-based businesses and home-grown brands are just as badly affected by the pandemic as everyone else. For a period of time during the Circuit Breaker, these brands were not allowed to operate so as to curb human-to-human interaction. This also means that they were not receiving any revenue at all.

To help them out, you can always make a small purchase from them. For a comprehensive list of home-based and home-grown businesses, you can check out hbb.sg.

#TREATYOURSELF AND DO A LITTLE SHOPPING 

Who would have ever imagined that spoiling ourselves with occasional gifts would be useful in saving Singapore’s dying economy? With most physical stores being shut for the time being, many of our favourite brands have desperately turned to online platforms to continue their businesses. To help them make it over the next few hurdles before stores are allowed to re-operate again, purchasing something from them online can help boost their sales and survive another month.

While we aren’t asking you to go crazy and start carting out all the items in your wishlist, a little retail therapy to #treatyourself will definitely help to stimulate the economy. So yes, get those pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing; you deserve it for surviving the Circuit Breaker.

COVID-19 has left Singapore’s F&B industry in a catastrophic mess, especially after dining out was banned during the Circuit Breaker period. Eateries have been struggling to make ends meet and despite many of them still allowing takeaway or delivery, it is not always enough.

So, it isn’t surprising that a number of these dining establishments have had to shut their doors and leave Singapore’s F&B industry. Over the past few months, we’ve heard of the closing of a number of reputable restaurants across our little red dot and it is truly heartbreaking.

Just recently, there have been rumours that Stärker Group has become one of the next casualties of the pandemic. Are these, however, true? We will find out by 10 June 2020.

For a little context, the Stärker Group owns a chain of German bistros and restaurants that specialises in German-style fresh beer and hearty sharing platters that you can enjoy with some live music.

The Stärker Group has put a notice up on their social media platforms stating that they are temporarily closed during the pandemic period, but there have been no updates since, which has caused plenty of speculation.

We’ve recently discovered that a “Notice of Creditors Meeting” under section 209 of the Companies Act has been put up for “Stärker Brewery Pte. Ltd” and “Stärker F&B Pte. Ltd.”,  and that a fully electronic meeting conducted by video-conference will decide their fate. This meeting will be held on 10 June 2020 at 3pm and 4pm and will discuss the company’s affairs, estimate amounts of creditors’ claims, appointing a liquidator, appointing a committee of inspection and any other business.

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