F&B firms frustrated by return to two-person rule

They say emerging clusters of infections aren't happening in restaurants, and that getting rental waivers is complicated.

DISAPPOINTMENT and frustration. This was the overwhelming sentiment felt by food and beverage (F&B) operators with whom The Business Times spoke, following the announcement that social gathering and dine-in numbers will be reduced to two for a month starting Monday.

Revenue fell 60 per cent the last time the two-person rule was implemented, said Gursheel Dhillon, head of public relations at Eclectique Concepts, a company which owns brands such as Gabbar Bistro & Bar, Latin American cafe and bar Cuba Libre and Indonesian restaurant Nusantara Singapore.

"People are going to cancel reservations we've taken months to rebuild,' said Ms Dhillon.

Dellen Soh, chairman and chief executive officer of Minor Food Singapore, said: "We have the highest vaccination rates in the world and we are talking about living with Covid. We thought our lives were back to normal, with over 90 per cent of patients basically asymptomatic or (experiencing) very mild symptoms.

"I'm sure the taskforce has its reasons. They probably want to make sure things don't blow up, but it seems quite harsh for businesses."

Ivan Brehm, chef-owner of Nouri, highlighted his frustration that decisions were being made unilaterally, without consulting the industry.

"It isn't until we can sit and discuss this with policymakers in a way that is open and frank and takes into account our expertise, that we may see some changes. I feel there is no mood currently to broach this topic in earnest," he said.

"The reality on the ground does not correspond with the restrictions that are being implemented. The clusters ... are not happening in the restaurant universe. So why not create policy and enforcement procedures that correspond with that statistic?"

Restaurant Association of Singapore president Andrew Kwan meanwhile warned of "battle weariness" setting in. "We may need to monitor carefully the potential non-economic and non-medical fallout from start-stop, go-no-go operations from the rank and file."

Above all else, operators highlighted rent as a continued pain point.

To mitigate the impact of the enhanced safe-management measures, the government announced that it is raising the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) support level to 25 per cent for the period of Sept 27 to Oct 24.

It will also provide a two-week rental waiver for qualifying tenants on government-owned commercial properties. Qualifying tenant-occupiers and owner-occupiers of privately-owned commercial properties will get a two-week rental relief cash payout under the Rental Support Scheme.

Nouri's Mr Brehm said: "Nobody's being ungrateful. But the fact is that if we're going to be front-lining this throughout the pandemic, support needs to be adequate."

Minor Food's Mr Soh echoed this, noting that the government has "done its part" in terms of JSS support and rental relief, but added that the rental waiver framework - which requires private commercial landlords to provide two weeks of rental waiver to qualifying tenants - remains too complicated.

For instance, even if eligible tenants receive a notice of rental waiver, they do not automatically qualify. They must still send a copy of that notice, a completed declaration form, and supporting documents to their immediate landlord via e-mail or registered post.

"All businesses would definitely appreciate the government just mandating a clean and simple structure, so at least we know that rental, which forms a large part of our cost, is taken care of," said Mr Soh.

A F&B operator who declined to be named for fear of potential backlash, added: "There are strong sentiments on the ground that all major REITs (real estate investment trusts) have reported record earnings, a testament that rebates extended have not been all that significant."

Seoul Garden's chief development officer, Garry Lam, added: "We hope to see a response from landlords to help their tenants ride this setback."

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/fb-firms-frustrated-by-return-to-two-person-rule

If this ain't another fucking HA, I don't know what is.

COVID-19: Dining-in group size limit at regular F&B outlets down to 2; social gatherings reduced

SINGAPORE: The group size limit for dining-in at regular food and beverage (F&B) outlets will be reduced to two vaccinated people from Monday (Sep 27), while the cap on social gatherings will also be reduced, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Friday.

This comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Singapore in recent weeks.

The new restrictions will last from Sep 27 to Oct 24, and MOH will review the measures two weeks after implementation and adjust these measures based on the community situation then.

"We do not need to return to a heightened alert. But we have to do more to scale back social interactions further in order to slow down community transmissions and allow for better stability," said MOH.

DINE-IN AT F&B OUTLETS

Groups of up to two people will be allowed to dine-in at regular F&B outlets if all diners are fully vaccinated. This is down from the current limit of five.

Unvaccinated individuals with a valid negative pre-event test result, recovered people, and children aged 12 and below may be included in the group of two at F&B outlets, MOH said.

F&B establishments that are not able to ensure that all dine-in patrons meet the criteria for full vaccination may only operate takeaway and delivery services, MOH said.

The rules for dining-in at hawker centres and coffee shops remain unchanged.

“Because hawker centres and coffee shops offer essential food services to the community, the concession to dine-in at these premises will remain at up to two persons, regardless of vaccination status,” the Health Ministry said.

Entertainment such as live performances, recorded music, and videos or television screening at F&B outlets will continue to be prohibited, MOH said.

"Patrons to F&B establishments are also reminded to adhere to all safe management measures and keep their masks on at all times except when eating or drinking," the ministry added.

SOCIAL GATHERINGS REDUCED

The permitted group size for social gatherings will also be reduced from a maximum of five people to two people.

The maximum number of unique visitors per household will also be reduced to two per day, down from five. The cap on visitors does not apply to grandchildren being cared for by grandparents.

“Individuals should continue to limit their overall number of social gatherings to not more than one per day, whether to another household, or meeting with friends and family members in a public place,” MOH said.

"We strongly encourage all individuals to reduce social activities and wear our masks diligently.

“In particular, the elderly and persons with co-morbidities who are more vulnerable to severe illnesses, should stay home as much as possible, except for essential activities such as working, buying food and groceries, seeing the doctor, and exercising individually in uncrowded locations."

MOH warned that if the infection continues at its current trajectory, Singapore can expect to "reach a daily count of about 3,200 in the next week". It has not ruled out cases "doubling further".

"To minimise the strain on our overall healthcare capacity, we will have to tighten measures before that happens," the ministry said.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/covid-19-dining-group-size-two-social-gatherings-reduced-moh-2199456

Impractical to raise dine-in cap at hawker centres, coffee shops, say MOH and NEA

SINGAPORE - It is impractical to increase dine-in caps for hawker centres and coffee shops to five vaccinated customers, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Thursday (Aug 26).

Currently, up to two people are allowed to dine together at these places, regardless of whether they are vaccinated.

Such premises are open and porous, with a mixture of dine-in and takeaway customers, the authorities noted in their response to a Facebook post earlier on Thursday by Makansutra founder K. F. Seetoh.

"If we require vaccination status checks at hawker centres and coffee shops, it will add to the burden of already struggling operators and stallholders," they said.

Mr Seetoh had said it is ironic that the cap on dining in at coffee shops and hawker centres remains at two, while it is set at five for air-conditioned foodcourts.

Since Aug 10, Singapore has allowed people to dine at restaurants in groups of up to five if all of them are fully vaccinated.

Mr Seetoh said the two-person cap for hawker centres and coffee shops is damaging the livelihoods of hawkers.

It is causing stalls to close, costing them jobs, impacting their ability to pay bills and damaging their mental health, he added.

He also said he knew of as many as 150 hawkers who left the business last year, and that he gets information of closures "almost daily".

In response, MOH and NEA said dining-in is a high-risk activity as masks are removed and people are interacting in close quarters. An unvaccinated diner who gets Covid-19 is at high risk of falling very ill, the authorities added.

While food and beverage outlets that cannot check patrons' vaccination status are not allowed to have any dine-in customers, the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19 had decided to allow dining in for two at hawker centres and coffee shops as a concession, they said.

"This is to help our hawkers and stallholders while limiting the spread of the virus."

More at https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/impractical-to-raise-dine-in-cap-at-hawker-centres-coffee-shops-say-moh-and-nea

Daughter's vaccination status not updated in TraceTogether app

My daughter, aged 12, has had her second vaccine shot more than 19 days ago but her TraceTogether app still shows that she is unvaccinated. She has made sure the app has been updated to the latest version.

Many of my friends' teenagers are facing a similar issue.

I have repeatedly sent messages to the TraceTogether customer service e-mail address, but to no avail.

Can the authorities please look into this and resolve the issue?

Unfortunately, in spite of being vaccinated, my daughter cannot dine at many restaurants as they do not want to recognise the document given at the vaccination centre showing that she has taken her two doses, relying only on the token or app instead.

https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-daughters-vaccination-status-not-updated-in-tracetogether-app

Restaurant did not accept vaccination status in HealthHub app

It has been reported that from Aug 10, fully vaccinated individuals may dine in groups of up to five people, with their vaccination statuses verified through the TraceTogether app, HealthHub, or other valid documentation.

I have been fully vaccinated with Sinovac under the Special Access Route and my vaccination status has been reflected in the HealthHub app since Aug 4.

However, this status is not reflected in the TraceTogether app as the Government is still working to get this data reflected in the app.

I had a disappointing experience at a restaurant on Tuesday, when a staff member refused to accept my vaccination status in HealthHub even though I logged into the app through my Singpass in his presence.

He insisted that the Ministry of Health had informed the establishment that it could only allow entry for diners whose TraceTogether app shows the "fully vaccinated" status, or if the restaurant's SafeEntry (Business) app has verified diners' vaccination status.

Not wanting to make a fuss, my friends and I left the place and settled for other dining outlets nearby. I am wondering if there are more misinformed food and beverage outlets that are still unaware of how to verify diners' vaccination status.

https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-restaurant-did-not-accept-vaccination-status-in-healthhub-app

Covid-19: 'Strict enforcement' on dine-in rules to start; people who falsely declare vaccination status can be fined, jailed

SINGAPORE — Eateries that fail to check the vaccination status of their patrons before granting them entry could face fines or closure, or both, while patrons who falsely declare their vaccination status could be fined or jailed, or punished with both.

Sounding this note of caution in a statement on Friday (Aug 20), the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) said that from this weekend, "strict enforcement" would be taken against operators and diners who flout infection-control measures that are based on vaccination status.

Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, said that during checks on more than 700 outlets and 2,000 diners last weekend, enforcement officers had identified seven operators that failed to check their patrons’ vaccination status.

Nine patrons were also found to have dined in before they were deemed fully vaccinated, that is, two weeks after receiving the second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

MSE said that most of them had not waited two weeks for their vaccine to take effect.

So far, operators and patrons found to have flouted the rules were given stern warnings.

“As this was the first week of implementing the vaccination-differentiated safe-management measures, operators and patrons were given allowance to adjust to the new (rules) and stern warnings were issued,” the ministry said.

None of the more than 2,000 patrons checked by enforcement officers had falsified their vaccination status.

Right now, people who are not immunised may have their meals only at hawker centres and coffee shops alone or in groups of two, while fully vaccinated individuals may dine at eateries in groups of up to five.

Since the rules kicked in, a few eateries have encountered unvaccinated customers who tried to gain entry to their outlets using a screenshot of someone else’s vaccination status, TODAY reported this week.

Since last Tuesday, diners have had to show proof of their vaccination status through their TraceTogether or HealthHub mobile applications, or by scanning their TraceTogether token or showing their original vaccination card.

Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/covid-19-strict-enforcement-dine-rules-start-people-who-falsely-declare-vaccination-status

Bruised, battered nightlife outlets hope for a reprieve

Once a glamorous and boisterous industry that entertained tourists and locals alike as they relaxed, mingled and let their hair down, Singapore's club and bar scene has taken a battering since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic here early last year.

All clubs and bars have been closed since March 26 last year, unless they made the necessary safety adjustments and pivoted into food and beverage (F&B) outlets.

Since June 19 last year, no alcohol can be consumed in F&B venues after 10.30pm and from June 21 this year, recorded music has been banned.

Last week, in a joint letter to the multi-ministry task force (MTF) tackling the pandemic, the Singapore Nightlife Business Association (SNBA), Singapore Cocktail Bar Association and the #savefnbsg restaurant coalition made an appeal to extend the consumption of alcohol to midnight and allow for recorded background music at such venues.

While protecting patrons and employees is of paramount importance, SNBA president Joseph Ong, one of the co-signatories of the letter, said with vaccination numbers expected to reach 80 per cent at the start of next month, nightlife operators are hopeful more safety measures can be eased while critical ones such as social distancing, mask wearing and use of TraceTogether remain in place.

Speaking to The New Paper earlier this week, he said: "Since Covid-19, the situation has been dire for the industry, with 215 out of about 2,000 outlets using SNBA's help to exit the industry, and several others seemingly heading that way."

Venues that pivoted to F&B had to shut from July 16 after a cluster of cases emerged at KTV lounges and clubs.

After two weeks, the authorities announced that they would be allowed to reopen if they met new safety requirements.

The latest requirements include installing extensive closed-circuit television camera coverage and seven-day Covid-19 testing for employees, among other measures, and the outlets would be allowed to open only after passing an inspection.

Mr Jeffrey Goh, manager at F'awesome Hideout, a bar in Serangoon Gardens, estimates a loss of between $10,000 to $15,000 over the last 30 days.

The bar is in the process of making the adjustments and he said: "While we are closed, we still need to pay rent and for our licence. We have had to get rid of drinks that were expiring - we are losing money.

"With the current 10.30pm restriction, some customers who usually come in the evening after work prefer staying at home as they can visit for only a short while. Pushing the restriction to midnight will allow us to bring back this group when we reopen."

The Lions Den has made the required changes and is waiting to be inspected. Mr Schubert Templar, 34, director of the sports bar in Club Street, said: "When we reopened without music and restrictions to two customers per table in July before the case of the KTV cluster, sales dropped drastically.

"Music is an important part of what draws our customers in, as it provides them with a comfortable atmosphere to enjoy their evening."

PIVOT

The appeal letter to the MTF included results of a survey of nightlife establishments that had made the pivot and other F&B outlets. About 43 per cent had taken out loans of up to $1.5 million to keep operating, 8 per cent had taken loans between $1.5 million and $3 million, and 80 per cent said their revenue had dropped by 75 per cent or more between May and July.

Coyote Ugly opened at Clarke Quay before the pandemic took hold and it was duly stripped of its trademark bartop dancers. It is now a restaurant serving Western food.

Its director, Mr Ruslan Nazarov, 47, said monthly revenue is on average 40 per cent of what it used to be in the opening two months.

More at https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/bruised-battered-nightlife-outlets-hope-reprieve

Now this is what I truly call 脑筋急转弯!

S'pore restaurants find fake vaccination certs, some disgruntled diners in first week of dining in

SINGAPORE - Food and beverage (F&B) establishments had to turn away customers with fake vaccination certificates and some whose full-vaccination status were not yet valid, following the resumption of dining in on Tuesday (Aug 10).

Thai restaurant 87 Just Thai Killiney in Killiney Road had to reject 10 customers on the first day alone.

Co-founder Eric Tan said several customers had shown up in pairs to dine in, having assumed that the non-air-conditioned restaurant is a coffee shop.

Only hawker centres and coffee shops are able to accept groups of two diners regardless of vaccination status.

Groups of up to five people who are fully vaccinated, have recovered from or tested negative for Covid-19, can dine together at restaurants.

The restaurant's other outlet, located in Pasir Panjang, also faced similar challenges.

"We had customers attempting to come in and who kept challenging us saying 'you have no air-con and no door, so you should be a coffee shop'," said Mr Tan.

"There were also others who didn't understand that if there is no green tick in your app, we can't let you in... one couple got really upset and stormed off after saying 'good luck to your business'."

The Straits Times spoke to 10 restaurants, bars and F&B groups, six of whom have had to turn away a handful of guests this past week.

Businesses can verify the vaccination status of guests via the TraceTogether or HealthHub mobile apps, physical Covid-19 vaccination cards, or by scanning their TraceTogether tokens.

Someone is considered to be fully vaccinated two weeks after he has received a full regimen of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnatry or Moderna vaccines, or any other vaccines under the World Health Organisation’s Emergency Use Listing. These include the AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccines.

A green tick in the app denotes that the person has completed the full regimen.

Venues can also admit those who have received a negative result on a $20 pre-event test by a Ministry of Health-approved Covid-19 test provider in the last 24 hours.

The Empire Eats Group, which owns eight brands of restaurants and bars including Standing Sushi Bar, Tanuki Raw and The Secret Mermaid, had guests who did not understand the requirements, and even some who tried to hoodwink their staff.

"We encountered some people thinking they can dine-in while unvaccinated if they are in a group of two; we also had a small number of people who presented fake certificates or insisted they're fully vaccinated before the 14-day milestone," said the group's director, Mr Howard Lo.

Both cases occurred at the Odeon Towers branch of Standing Sushi Bar.

One used a doctored HealthHub printout paired with a vaccination card that belonged to a person of a different name. Another was a group of five diners, one of whom later gave the restaurant a fake negative review online.

"When caught, they left willingly, but they were unhappy," said Mr Lo.

More at https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer/some-disgruntled-diners-fake-vaccination-certificates-in-first-week-of-dining-in

Motherfucking cheebye customer is denied entry by Michelin-starred Restaurant Labyrinth owing to the fact 14 days have yet to elapse after receiving the 2nd dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, so he proceeds to leave a 1 star scathing review on Google.

“Business is so bad SDAs are ignoring us ’cos we’re empty” — Eateries See Thin Crowds Even With Dining Ban Lifted

On August 10, differentiated dining-in rules kicked in as part of Singapore’s first steps to reopening the economy. Allowing up to five vaccinated diners per table marked the beginning of recovery for F&B establishments after another period of dine-in restrictions. But several restaurants 8days.sg spoke to have been met with a perplexing combination of empty dining rooms in tandem with a drastic drop in deliveries.

This led to an impassioned post on Facebook by the owner of bar and restaurant concept Jekyll and Hyde, Chua Ee Chien. He details his shockingly low take of “a grand total of $77 from one table that dined in” for Wednesday’s (Aug 11) dinner service. The repeated rounds of dine-in restrictions have also led to multiple periods of adjustment by owners and diners alike, leading to affected sales. “The time between each lockdown has been this limbo period, where people don’t know whether to go out or to order delivery. With two situations like this in 2021 alone, that’s four times where people have had to adjust, and four to eight weeks of absolutely dismal sales,” he laments.

8days.sg spoke to him, along with other restaurateurs with similar experiences at their own eateries.

In his Facebook post, Ee Chien stresses the importance of music being allowed in restaurants as well as a relaxation of the time limit for alcohol consumption (which is now set at 10.30pm), especially for dual concepts like Jekyll & Hyde. “Music creates an ambience. Music isn’t meant to be the main focus, but it creates a vibe and atmosphere that people come to restaurants for,” he explains. “While there is concern that loud music might lead to people speaking louder [resulting in a greater risk of saliva distribution and virus transmission], restaurants are more than happy to comply with a decibel limit.”

As for allowing alcohol consumption past 10.30pm, he shares that “15 to 20 percent of the evening’s food and drinks come from sales during the time period of 10.30pm to midnight alone.” It also allows for “less restrictive table turns [that last longer than two hours, rather than a hour and a half] and a more pleasant dining experience all around”.

Currently, his restaurant’s takings are down by about 75 percent on average compared to before the pandemic. “We employ 13 Singaporeans, with a total salary and CPF contribution of close to $40,000 a month, which is $1538 per working day. Today, we made $77. Note that we haven’t taken rent, utilities, goods and other costs into consideration,” he adds in his Facebook post.

He continues, This isn’t a cry for help, as much as it is a rallying cry on behalf of myself and other restaurant and bar owners - please dine out if you can afford it, and if you’re fully vaccinated, or order delivery.

Owners of restaurants in the CBD (Central Business District) we spoke to have yet to see any meaningful increase in business since dining in was reinstated. “Business is so bad SDAs (Safe Distancing Ambassadors) are ignoring us cause we are either empty or people are already sitting five metres apart,” comments Park Tan, the second-gen owner of Pagi Sore Indonesian Restaurant on a Facebook post.

“Compared to previous exits from lockdowns and heightened phases, this round seems incredibly muted. Even more so as we are located in the CBD (Central Business District),” he tells 8days.sg. “I think between [restaurant] owners and customers, everyone is just tired. Tired of interpreting rules, tired of having to continuously adapt to snap changes.”

He shows us an amusing video he shot on Tiktok frying an egg on the road outside his restaurant. “I did this video for a laugh, but it [reveals] a very grave issue,” he says. “I could never have done this [before Covid-19]. There would be too many vehicles or human traffic. Now, I did this and [I didn’t even get] a single weird glance.”

Chef Willin Low, who runs Singapore-inspired izakaya Roketto (its daytime alter ego is casual family restaurant Relish), decided not to open his restaurant located in Frasers Tower. “WFH (work-from-home) kills many of us in the CBD,” he explains simply. “We are watching the situation for WFH to ease before reopening Relish at Frasers Tower for lunch.” As for dinner venue Roketto, he’ll open it next Wednesday “as we know that the CBD is quiet, so we’d rather [open in] phases slowly and watch the situation.”

Relish’s other outpost at Cluny Court has also been “quiet” in the three days since reopening - with business down by some “35 to 40 percent”.

Read more at https://www.8days.sg/eatanddrink/newsandopening/business-bad-sdas-are-ignoring-us-empty-eateries-15389262

Dining-in to resume for fully vaccinated people in groups of 5 from Aug 10

SINGAPORE: Dining-in at F&B outlets will resume from Aug 10, only for fully vaccinated people in up to groups of five as Singapore announced a two-step easing of COVID-19 measures.

The current group size for social gatherings will also be increased from two to five from Aug 10, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a press release on Friday (Aug 6). Households will similarly be able to receive five distinct visitors per day.

However, people who are unvaccinated should remain in groups of no more than two “to reduce the likelihood of transmission and severe infection”, MOH said.

Unvaccinated children aged 12 and below can be included in the group of five as long as all the children are from the same household, the ministry added.

The announcement follows a mid-point review of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures, with restrictions to be eased from Aug 10 and from Aug 19 if the coronavirus situation remains stable, said MOH.

Apart from allowing dining-in for the vaccinated, measures will also be eased for this group of people for other higher-risk activities such as high-intensity sports with masks off, personal care services, as well as larger events like marriage solemnisations and worship services.

"Unvaccinated individuals with a valid negative pre-event test result or recovered individuals are of similarly lower risk, and may also join in such groups of up to five," said MOH.

HAWKER CENTRES AND COFFEE SHOPS

F&B outlets may only resume dine-in services if they are able to ensure that customers are fully vaccinated. Those that are not able to do so may only operate takeaway and delivery services.

Everyone can dine in at hawker centres and coffee shops from Aug 10 - regardless of vaccination status - but only in groups of two.

“Hawker centres and coffee shops provide convenient and affordable food services within the community. As these are open-air and naturally ventilated spaces, we will extend a special concession for both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons to dine in the hawker centres and coffee shops,” said the Health Ministry.

Dining-in remains a high-risk activity because people are unmasked and in close proximity, noted the ministry, adding that entertainment like live performances, recorded music and TV screenings will continue to be prohibited.

Responding to a question about how people can prove that they are fully vaccinated, co-chair of the multi-ministry task force Lawrence Wong said that a person's vaccination status is reflected in the TraceTogether app or in HealthHub.

“All you need to do is bring your phone along when you go for dining, you can show the person at the restaurant the vaccine status, then they will be able to verify that,” he added.

For people who have been vaccinated overseas, they may have to bring hard copies of the relevant documents, as their vaccination status may not be reflected in the TraceTogether app or HealthHub, said Mr Wong.

“For the most part, everyone should be able to rely on their phones to get their vaccine status verified.”

More at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/dining-vaccinated-people-covid-19-aug-10-hawkers-2096546

Hong Lim Market & Food Centre is to be closed another 2 days for deep cleaning.

Singapore restaurant owners vent frustration as dine-in shutters

Some of Singapore’s top chefs are fed up with the government’s on-again, off-again measures to stop the spread of Covid-19, which include a temporary shutdown of in-person dining.

Faced with a surge of cases from clusters related to karaoke lounges and a fishery port, authorities announced tighter controls, including a stoppage of eating at restaurants until Aug. 18. The ban on dine-in, which took effect on Thursday after a Tuesday announcement and comes just a month after it had been allowed again, dealt another blow to an industry that for more than a year has struggled to navigate changing rules, policies that eat into their revenue, and tight scrutiny.

“The food and beverage industry is disgusted with this last news,” Chef-Owner Ryan Clift of Tippling Club said in a WhatsApp message Thursday. Restaurants have “now just been bent over by an industry that quite frankly should not exist in a country that prides itself on such high standards and strict regulations,” he said, referring to the karaoke cluster and nightlife establishments’ ability to apply for food and beverage licenses in order to continue operating in pandemic times.

When dining-in was barred for slightly more than two months during a full circuit breaker in 2020 and again a couple of months ago, restaurants adapted their offerings to take-away. When it was allowed again, the number of diners per party was limited, and distancing guidelines meant many establishments lost seating capacity.

Other strict rules were also enforced. Alcohol wasn’t allowed on tables after 10:30 p.m., groups were told not to mingle, and masks were required unless the person was eating or drinking. Recorded music and television screenings were also forbidden “to reduce the expulsion of droplets from individuals having to raise their voices over the entertainment,” as the Ministry of Health put it.

“Speechless,” said Ivan Brehm of Michelin-starred Nouri, which ranked number 73 in a list of Asia’s best restaurants list for 2021, on Facebook Wednesday. “This last lockdown.... a pill very hard to swallow. Wondering how much of Covid cases worldwide or in S’pore specifically are directly connected to restaurants... or music for that matter. Politics, cosmetic policies, disdain for an industry all too eager to help, and sheer arrogance; a recipe for disaster. Believe me, I’m a Chef.”

The comments are notable because businesses typically shy away from directly criticising the government in Singapore, where the ruling People’s Action Party has governed the nation since 1965.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung explained that while no cases had been detected at restaurants, dining-in had to be suspended to prevent social gatherings which could potentially “turbo charge” the fishery port cluster which has since spread to local wet markets and food centers.

”If 5 friends meet for dinner, each has 5 people at home, who in turn meet their friends in groups of 5, we have a network of 5x5x5=125 connections for the virus to work itself through,” he said.

‘Frustration’

Still, some F&B owners are questioning the move as supervision had been tight, with many mid-level and upscale restaurants saying that Singapore’s “social distancing ambassadors” were conducting frequent surveillance, including taking photos of their establishments and asking them about whether they were following protocols.

Singapore has decided to scale down its reopening plans amid dozens of new cases over the last week, even as some countries with similarly high rates of vaccination allow a resumption of social activities and freer travel.

“Frustration is what I feel most at this moment,” said Max Strauch, head chef at The LoKal, in a WhatsApp message Friday. “We are checked on a daily basis by officers and we 100% comply with the rules, and then something like this KTV thing happens makes me feel really, really angry.”

His pain is shared across the industry with the stallholders at hawker centers and food outlets suffering too. Those in the central business district were seeing sluggish business even before the latest clampdown on dine-in as office employees continue to work from home, Today reported.

“It feels like double standards are being applied and who knows why,” Strauch said.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/singapore-restaurant-owners-vent-frustration-as-dine-in-shutters-033846254.html

Dumb fucking Sinkie gets pwned by Koufu stall @ Slumggol !

Here's a look at various hawker centres across Singapore on the 2nd day of the new Phase 2 (HA):

The new Market and Hawker Centre Relief Fund will be made available to all individual cooked food and market stallholders at National Environment Agency (NEA)-managed hawker centres, as well as NEA-appointed operators.

The move comes after eateries were barred from letting patrons dine in from Thursday to Aug 18 in an effort to curb Covid-19 infections.

More at https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer/one-off-500-injection-for-nea-managed-hawker-centre-and-market-stallholders

'I can't stop now': Business owners hang on despite running up losses amid tighter COVID-19 restrictions

SINGAPORE: Sofi Sui, owner of the Italian restaurant Pasta Brava has, by her estimate, lost S$1 million over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest restrictions - a return to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), which again prohibits people from dining in - means she will have to dip into her reserves once more, she told CNA.

“For sure it’s going to affect (businesses) because, especially for myself, I have been coming out with my own personal savings,” said Ms Sui, adding that this is despite help from the Government.

The restrictions will last till Aug 18. Ms Sui, who is also a chef, said that she has “no heart” to wind up her restaurant.

“If I lost S$1 million, from a business point of view, I have to cut already, but the point now is that I basically just don’t have the heart to,” she said.

“I can’t stop now. Why? Because I (have) already lost so much.”

Her main concerns are the commitment she has made to more than 20 employees who work at the restaurant and another cafe she owns, and the S$400,000 she has invested in the outlet that Pasta Brava will be moving to, she said.

“This time, maybe I will have to lose another S$200,000? S$100,000? For me, my focus is always that I don’t have the heart to let go of my staff,” said Ms Sui.

She likened shutting down her business to divorce.

“There’s a relationship to it. You cannot just divorce a business. You divorce a spouse, it’s just one single human being … but the thing is that when it’s a business, it’s a whole entire team,” she said.

HANGING ON

Co-founder of Moonstone bar Jeremy Lim echoed the sentiment, that F&B is a passion-led business.

For three months running, the bar has been bleeding losses. To keep it afloat, Mr Lim and fellow shareholders are trying to raise capital to ensure cash flow for the next one to two months.

Failing which, they will have to take a loan, their second since the pandemic began.

“That’s not a good situation,” Mr Lim said, describing it as being in a “state of languish”.

“We don’t really know what to look forward to. We know we are going to work hard just so that we can pay all our staff and our rent and we take nothing out of it.”

BUSINESS IS LIKE A "BABY"

While the latest curbs on dining in have dealt a direct blow to the F&B industry, retail businesses are not spared either.

At zero-waste store Unpackt, co-founder Florence Tay lamented that the street that her store is on was “empty” on Thursday. She had been open for four hours and in that time, saw just one walk-in customer.

Having already closed one outlet, Ms Tay said that the latest round of restrictions has added to the strain. “Our income is quite volatile. We are just barely scraping through.”

She and another co-founder are in a “no-pay” situation, she said.

And because her business is classified as a supermarket, it falls outside the remit of certain government support schemes.

While Unpackt sells food and other items that are free of packaging, the core of the business is educating people on environmentally friendly practices, holding farmers’ markets that showcase items made by small outfits and supplying office pantries, she said.

Despite the struggle, and discussions on whether they should cut their losses, the founders continue to pump in their own savings.

“The business, for us, is like a baby. You take so much time and effort to nurture the child, and then after that suddenly you say kill the child,” she said.

But even as footfall slows to a trickle, one family-run business said it is readjusting to the conditions.

Fashion One, which has several outlets, is surviving for now, but only because the owner is drawing on his reserves, said general manager Nazreen Sharief.

The main consideration for keeping the business alive is the welfare of its long-serving employees, many of whom are getting on in age, as well as loans that need to be serviced, Ms Nazreen said.

While the return of restrictions has hurt, it has also provided a playbook.

“We learn and we adapt. We manage our expectations and our sales targets based on what happened in the past,” she said.

“This time, it’s a bit easier because it’s the same scenario that happened the last time, so we can use that as a template.”

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-phase-2-business-owners-hang-on-losses-15269872

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Return to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert): Dining-in to be suspended, group sizes back down to 2

SINGAPORE: Dining-in will be suspended and group sizes for social gatherings will go back down to two people as Singapore returns to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) to combat a rise in local COVID-19 cases.

The measures will be in effect from Thursday (Jul 22) until Aug 18 and will supersede the measures that were introduced on Monday, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a press release.

The Government will review the measures in two weeks and adjust them based on the situation at that time, the ministry added.

The COVID-19 multi-ministerial task force decided not to differentiate the measures for those who are fully vaccinated, but will consider doing so when vaccination rates are higher or when the situation has stabilised, said task force co-chair Gan Kim Yong in a press conference on Tuesday.

“We know that this news is extremely disappointing and frustrating to many, in particular for businesses in sectors such as F&B. These sectors have been very badly hit given the earlier restrictions, they have been working very hard to adapt to the changing regulations,” said Mr Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry.

Task force co-chair Lawrence Wong acknowledged that many businesses had been looking forward to reopening and would have made preparations to differentiate their customers based on vaccination status.

“I’m sure (they) would be very disappointed to know that they now have to close and cannot allow for customers to dine in, especially for our F&B operators," he said.

The return to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) was “a very difficult decision to make” and one that the task force deliberated over, Mr Wong said.

“But based on the assessment of the way the cases have developed, the many clusters that we are seeing, and how it's likely to have transmitted through into the community, we've decided that we have to put in place something to slow down the transmission.

“The general message to everyone under Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) is please stay home, minimise your movements and social interactions as much as you can,” said Mr Wong, who is also Finance Minister.

Other mask-off activities, such as strenuous indoor exercise classes or individual and group indoor sports and exercise activities, will have to cease.

Services and activities that need masks to be removed – facials and saunas, singing and playing of wind or brass instruments – will also not be allowed.

The restrictions will not apply to medical and dental consultations that require patients to remove their masks. But non-medical facial treatments will not be exempt.

People who work in settings with unmasked customers, such as F&B staff, have been on the mandatory Fast and Easy Test regime since mid-July. They do not have to take the COVID-19 tests during Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) if their business operations are suspended.

For businesses that remain open, including F&B outlets catering to deliveries and takeaways, staff must continue with the 14-day testing requirements. The tests will continue to be free for them during this period.

Responding to a question about the two-week suspension on nightlife operators that pivoted to F&B, Mr Wong said the suspension allowed the authorities to study “in greater detail” the safe management measures in place.

A "risk-based approach" will be taken to these pivoted businesses, he said. Businesses that strictly comply with safe management measures may be allowed to resume operations after two weeks.

“Some of them where there are more questions and the agencies are not satisfied that they are able to comply strictly with the measures, we may take a bit more time,” he said, adding that government agencies may have discovered some breaches in their inspections.

“If there are operators with existing breaches, we may even then revoke their licences and not allow them to continue operating.”

More at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/phase-2-heightened-alert-dining-in-gathering-group-size-covid-19-15254140

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