Thow Yen Seafood in Siglap to shutter its doors in April amid high rental costs

Dealing with increased rental costs is challenging for any business.

But for Thow Yen Seafood in Siglap, the rental costs proved too much.

The food stall in Siglap is set to shut its doors in April. 

On March 18, this news was also shared on the Facebook group Hawkers United - Dabao 2020.

According to the post, the owner announced that she'd be closing the business because of "massive" rental costs.

While there is still time to head east and enjoy the zi char stall's staples such as claypot chicken, chilli crab and cereal-baked prawns, fans of Thow Yen Seafood would be sad to know that a reopening is unlikely.

This is because the owner is set on moving back to Malaysia after the closure.

While the increase in rental costs is understood to be considerable, the exact numbers are unknown at the time of writing.

AsiaOne has reached out to Thow Yen Seafood for more information. 

Thow Yen Seafood is one of 12 food stalls in Siglap 936 Food House which sits on 936 East Coast Road.

Last October, this non-conservation freehold property went up for sale via an expression of interest (EOI) exercise with a guide price of $22.8 million.

The EOI exercise closed a month later without a buyer.

Rental woes

In May 2022, more than half of the stallholders in a Toa Payoh kopitiam pulled out after they were faced with a doubling of their rental fees.

Six out of 10 stallholders at a coffeeshop in Block 233, Toa Payoh Lorong 8 chose not to renew their contracts.

The increase in rental fees happened after a change in management.

A 60-year-old hawker running an economic bee hoon stall told Shin Min Daily News that his new rental fees would be $6,000, up from $3,000.

Thow Yen Seafood
Address: 936 East Coast Road, Siglap 936 Food House 
Opening hours: 11.30am to 2pm, 4.30pm to 10pm every day

ALSO READ: Popular claypot zi char stall at Chinatown Complex closes indefinitely after chef-owner suffers fall

amierul@asiaone.com

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