Gone in a poof: Proofer bakery shutters Potong Pasir branch overnight with just a note on their gate

[Update: Dec 8]

A spokesperson for The Poiz Centre has reached out to AsiaOne with a statement.

In it, it stated that a representative of Proofer Boulangerie had signed a new three-year lease in February which was slated to commence in March.

The statement also said that in the second half of 2019, The Poiz Centre management received feedback from the same Proofer Boulangerie representative that the electricity consumption of their unit was higher than expected.

The mall management conducted an inspection of the shop unit to ensure that the meters were functioning properly and provided some energy-saving tips as they observed that some power points seemed to be always left on after non-business hours. 

In the cut-throat world that is the Singapore retail scene, it's not uncommon for a shop to suddenly go bust. 

High rental, low foot traffic or bad location are just some reasons for a business to shutter. 

What is unusual though is for a shop to simply uproot and close without any prior notice. 

This was the case with Proofer Boulangerie and their Potong Pasir outlet located at The Poiz Centre.

Two months back, the local bakery chain decided to close their Potong Pasir branch without giving any warning to their customers. 

A note was left on the shop gate saying that their lease had been terminated and the mall has taken back the space. 

This came as a big surprise to many residents as the bakery, known for their single slice pizzas and bread rolls, had been doing brisk business. Proofer Boulangerie still has 16 outlets left throughout the island. 

However, according to Shin Min Daily News, an insider shared that the mysterious closure was down to the fact that the mall management and the bakery owners were unable to agree on a price for rent and utilities.

This was echoed by a spokesperson for Proofer who explained that there was a long history of disagreement over high utility bills. 

A spokesperson for The Poiz Centre explained that the increased bills were due to outstanding payments that Proofer had failed to pay.

On top of that, the bakery had left their electrical sources switched on even beyond operating hours to boot.

Since they were unable to reach an agreement, the bakery decided the best thing to do was to close and relocated the affected staff to their other branches. 

This isn't the first time that Proofer have been in the headlines.

Just this year, on the health and safety side of things, Proofer was also slapped with a suspension after a massive pest infestation was detected last October at their central kitchen.

ALSO READ: Proofer Bakery's operations suspended after SFA finds massive pest infestation

The bakery was forced to close and had to recall food products from their outlets across the island. 

timothywee@asiaone.com

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