Back and better: Reimondo Seafood Congee to reopen with new stall and concept at ITE

Earlier in May, Raymond Tan made the hard decision to shutter his two beloved hawker concepts — Sure Come Back Wanton Mee and Reimondo Seafood Congee. 

If you're a fan of his food, you'd be glad to know that Raymond is making a comeback very soon. 

The 35-year-old F&B entrepreneur will be opening a new stall on Sept 18 at Foodgle, a food court at ITE College West's Choa Chu Kang campus, reported 8days on Sept 14. 

And the new brand will be a nostalgic throwback because on the menu are dishes from all three of his previous F&B concepts – Reimondo Congee, Sure Come Back Wanton Mee and Super Supper. 

Previously, Raymond had told 8days that one factor which contributed to his decision to shutter his Reimondo Seafood Congee stall was inconsistent business. 

He revealed that the  stall was on a $1,000-a-month profit margin, which was risky. 

Apart that, there was the issue of manpower cost as he had hired two full-time assistants to run the business. 

Raymond also shared that while things may improve if he were to find a new location for the business, he did not want take that risk. So, he had plans to return to his former job as a self-employed roadside assistance mechanic. 

But things changed after an investor approached him for a partnership. 

Raymond told 8days that the investor, who wants to remain anonymous, is the owner of a local bakery chain and was a regular customer. 

"He likes my food and sees potential in growing the concepts. We also share the same goal of wanting to do good by hiring and training troubled youths," explained Raymond, who is an ex-convict himself. 

So, together with a silent partner, the hawker received "around $50k" to fund the stall while he took care of operations. 

Ex-convict turned hawker

Before becoming the hawker he is today, Raymond lived a life of crime and was a troubled youth who was spent most of his time in prison and boys' homes.

Some of his past crimes included shoplifting and housebreaking.

In a bid to stay out of jail for good, he started a car rental and repair company. Business was so good that he became a millionaire in two years but after that, he gambled all his hard-earned money away, which led a turbulent relationship with his wife.

However, after hearing that she was pregnant with his second child, he decided to get his act together and opened up a hawker stall at MacPherson which specialised in crabmeat wanton mee.

Unfortunately, business was as not good and he had to shutter the stall in 2017, but in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, he decided to give the hawker life another shot and opened Reimondo Seafood Congee in Pasir Ris. 

And now, with his new concept at ITE College West, he hopes to help troubled youths. 

"This location is ideal as some [of the youths that I mentored] attended ITE College West and got very excited when I told them about opening a stall here. I thought it’d be a good idea to position myself [as a mentor] in a place that they’re familiar with," he told 8days. 

"Sometimes, it’s hard to keep in touch with them after they are released. With a food stall, they [may be more inclined to] come eat and chat. I’m excited about being able to provide employment opportunities for them too." 

So, once his new business stabilises, he hopes to hire young ex-offenders. 

He also plans on transitioning from cooking to focusing on training these youths. 

On top of that, Raymond won't just be working as a hawker during this period. 

After shuttering the stall at 5pm each day, he plans on supplementing his income as a roadside assistant mechanic with most of the earnings going into repayment of his six-figure debt. 

This $280,000 debt, according to 8days, was a result of the since-shuttered Super Supper’s poor business. 

AsiaOne has reached out to Raymond for more details. 

Address: Stall 3, Foodgle, Blk 1 Level 3, ITE College West, 1 Choa Chu Kang Grove, Singapore 688236
Opening hours: Mondays to Fridays, 8.30am to 5pm 

ALSO READ: Guess who's back? Well-loved China Street Fritters reopens at Telok Blangah after closing Maxwell stall in July

melissateo@asiaone.com