After 50 years, the popular Happiness Nonya Cakes and Confectionery will be closing its doors.

Lately, customers have had to queue up early in the morning so as to savour a last taste of their beloved kuehs before they sell out around 9am, Lianhe Zaobao reported on Aug 28.

News of Happiness' impending closure had circulated as early as May this year, but its last day was expected to be in mid-September.

However, it appears that the shop, located at Block 92 Toa Payoh Lorong 4, will be shuttering on Sept 2, according to the Chinese daily.

Operated by an elderly couple and their son, Happiness is known for selling different varieties of nonya kuehs such as kueh salat, kueh dadar and ang ku kueh at very reasonable prices.

Their popular nasi lemak, for example, is priced at $1.80, with kuehs priced from 60 cents to $1 each, Zaobao reported.

The shopowners' son Yan Mingfu (transliteration) told Zaobao that his parents' decision to retire is due to their old age and safety considerations.

"My parents are old and don't wish to continue, my father is over 80 years old and my mum is in her 70s. It's dangerous for them to be in the kitchen at their age," he said.

"I plan to accompany them to travel and also give myself a break," the 42-year-old added.

Asked why they have kept their prices low over so many years, his reply was simple: "We just wanted the residents here to be able to afford it."

He told Zaobao that he'd noticed more customers patronising the shop recently, many of whom had learnt of the shop's closure from social media.

According to online sources, the shop opens at 6.30am and is closed by 3.30pm. But it now sees a line of people early in the morning, Zaobao reported.

One of them, a 64-year-old woman, shared that she'd been a loyal customer since she was a student and loves their nasi lemak.

She indicated that the shop has seen a surge of customers in recent weeks and is regularly sold out as early as 9am. 

A netizen had also shared online on Aug 23 how they'd seen queues at the shop by around 7am. 

Wrote one commenter to another post: "Was there before 8.30am this morning, there was already a rather long queue... didn't join the queue so didn't get to buy any, probably won't get another chance."

Others have expressed their dismay at news of the impending closure.

A user on Hawkers United - Dabao 2020 who'd shared about the shop's last day of operation wrote: "Another legend fading into the sunset after decades of providing happiness...Better rush down to grab a last bite of nostalgia."

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candicecai@asiaone.com

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