This is your final chance to get a taste of Leong Yeow Chicken Rice’s popular Hainanese chicken rice.
After nearly 50 years of running the business, Mdm Sun, 85, and her three sons are shutting down both their Waterloo and Queen Street stalls. Their last day of operations is Monday (May 27).
News of the stall’s closure was first posted on Facebook by netizen Matthew Soh, who shared a notice that the stall owners had put up outside their shop. The notice reads: “We extend our deepest gratitude for your unwavering support and loyalty over the years. Your patronage has meant the world to us.”
Leong Yeow Chicken Rice opened their first stall at Queen Street in 1978, before opening their Waterloo outlet the following year in 1979. Both shops, about a five-minute walk apart, have remained at the same location till now.
Leong Yeow Chicken Rice. (Photo: Facebook/Matthew Abraham Soh)
WHAT HAPPENED?
Netizen Matthew Soh wrote in his post that “rental kills a five-decade business”. But that may not be the case in this instance (more on that later).
8days reached out to Leong Yeow Chicken Rice co-owner, Mr Loy, 62, who simply said: “We’re all getting older, and we want to rest for a while”. He declined to elaborate on any rental issues, only hinting at some disagreements with the Waterloo coffee shop owner which he vaguely shared with us off the record.
STALL RENT LOWERED FROM S$7,000 TO S$5,000 BUT HAWKERS STILL SET ON CLOSING SHOP
Meanwhile, BGain 261 Eating House’s manager (who declined to be named) at Waterloo Street told 8days that they offered to lower the monthly stall rental for Leong Yeow, but the hawkers did not accept the offer.
“We are willing to lower the rent from S$7,000 to S$5,000 for them, but they still don’t want (to extend their tenure),” he said.
He noted that the amount includes fees for dish collection and pest control. According to him, Mr Loy and his family had been paying this S$7,000 in rent for the past three years already. 8days reached out to Mr Loy to verify this information – while he didn’t deny it, he declined to address questions relating to rent, saying, “I don’t want to speak so much about this (rental) issue”.
The coffeeshop manager shared that there’s low footfall in the area. “The Waterloo (coffeeshop) is in quite bad condition ’cause of the market changes. Lazada (located nearby) just retrenched over 200 employees,” he said.
If what he speculated is true, we can only guess that the situation at the chicken rice stall’s neighbouring sister outlet might be similar. However, the coffeeshop manager said he has no idea what business is like at Leong Yeow’s other outlet. 8days tried to reach out to Albert Centre for more information, but were unable to contact them.
Leong Yeow Chicken Rice. (Photo: Facebook/Matthew Abraham Soh)
MIGHT REOPEN IN THE FUTURE
Longtime patrons have taken to Soh’s Facebook post to express sadness about Leong Yeow’s impending closure, saying things like “I am really shocked! Have been eating for the last three decades”.
Soh recounted that Mdm Sun was always very generous with him when he was a kid: “When we were very young, we always bought three packets of chicken rice ($1.60 x 3) and one packet of plain rice (50 cents), auntie will never forget to give us more meat and charged us only $5 in total.”
However, it may not be goodbye forever. Mr Loy told 8days: “A lot of hawkers also rest for a year, and reopen (their stalls) in future. We’re resting now, but we can always reopen later.”
Leong Yeow Chicken Rice’s last day of operations is on May 27. Two outlets at BGain 261 Eating House, 261 Waterloo St, Singapore 180261 and #01-49 Albert Centre, 70 Queen St, Singapore 180270. Waterloo outlet opens 11.30am - 8pm; Queen St outlet opens 1.30pm - 8pm. Tel: 6334 3989.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...
After nearly 50 years of running the business, Mdm Sun, 85, and her three sons are shutting down both their Waterloo and Queen Street stalls. Their last day of operations is Monday (May 27).
News of the stall’s closure was first posted on Facebook by netizen Matthew Soh, who shared a notice that the stall owners had put up outside their shop. The notice reads: “We extend our deepest gratitude for your unwavering support and loyalty over the years. Your patronage has meant the world to us.”
Leong Yeow Chicken Rice opened their first stall at Queen Street in 1978, before opening their Waterloo outlet the following year in 1979. Both shops, about a five-minute walk apart, have remained at the same location till now.
Leong Yeow Chicken Rice. (Photo: Facebook/Matthew Abraham Soh)
WHAT HAPPENED?
Netizen Matthew Soh wrote in his post that “rental kills a five-decade business”. But that may not be the case in this instance (more on that later).
8days reached out to Leong Yeow Chicken Rice co-owner, Mr Loy, 62, who simply said: “We’re all getting older, and we want to rest for a while”. He declined to elaborate on any rental issues, only hinting at some disagreements with the Waterloo coffee shop owner which he vaguely shared with us off the record.
STALL RENT LOWERED FROM S$7,000 TO S$5,000 BUT HAWKERS STILL SET ON CLOSING SHOP
Meanwhile, BGain 261 Eating House’s manager (who declined to be named) at Waterloo Street told 8days that they offered to lower the monthly stall rental for Leong Yeow, but the hawkers did not accept the offer.
“We are willing to lower the rent from S$7,000 to S$5,000 for them, but they still don’t want (to extend their tenure),” he said.
He noted that the amount includes fees for dish collection and pest control. According to him, Mr Loy and his family had been paying this S$7,000 in rent for the past three years already. 8days reached out to Mr Loy to verify this information – while he didn’t deny it, he declined to address questions relating to rent, saying, “I don’t want to speak so much about this (rental) issue”.
The coffeeshop manager shared that there’s low footfall in the area. “The Waterloo (coffeeshop) is in quite bad condition ’cause of the market changes. Lazada (located nearby) just retrenched over 200 employees,” he said.
If what he speculated is true, we can only guess that the situation at the chicken rice stall’s neighbouring sister outlet might be similar. However, the coffeeshop manager said he has no idea what business is like at Leong Yeow’s other outlet. 8days tried to reach out to Albert Centre for more information, but were unable to contact them.
Leong Yeow Chicken Rice. (Photo: Facebook/Matthew Abraham Soh)
MIGHT REOPEN IN THE FUTURE
Longtime patrons have taken to Soh’s Facebook post to express sadness about Leong Yeow’s impending closure, saying things like “I am really shocked! Have been eating for the last three decades”.
Soh recounted that Mdm Sun was always very generous with him when he was a kid: “When we were very young, we always bought three packets of chicken rice ($1.60 x 3) and one packet of plain rice (50 cents), auntie will never forget to give us more meat and charged us only $5 in total.”
However, it may not be goodbye forever. Mr Loy told 8days: “A lot of hawkers also rest for a year, and reopen (their stalls) in future. We’re resting now, but we can always reopen later.”
Leong Yeow Chicken Rice’s last day of operations is on May 27. Two outlets at BGain 261 Eating House, 261 Waterloo St, Singapore 180261 and #01-49 Albert Centre, 70 Queen St, Singapore 180270. Waterloo outlet opens 11.30am - 8pm; Queen St outlet opens 1.30pm - 8pm. Tel: 6334 3989.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...