Coronavirus: Eateries in Singapore preparing for the worst

Good news is scarce these days in Singapore's food-and-beverage scene.

Restaurants have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, and many are empty at meal times, as Singapore hunkers down at home.

Two surveys, which came out in the past week, tell of restaurants hitting rock bottom.

The latest, by #savefnbsg, a coalition of more than 500 restaurants here started by restaurateurs Loh Lik Peng of the Unlisted Collection and Beppe de Vito of the ilLido Group, shows that 88 per cent of restaurants here might have to close in the next 30 days, despite government aid, if the situation does not improve.

There are 12,000 restaurants in Singapore and they employ 200,000 people.

Already, six in 10 restaurant operators have had to let go of employees because of financial woes. More than 81 per cent of those surveyed say they will have to lay off more staff "in the immediate future".

Statistics from a survey of 249 restaurants by restaurant reservations platform Chope show that a third of those surveyed have asked full-time staff to take compulsory leave, and 78 per cent will not last longer than six months if things do not get better.

Business is down by between 50 and 80 per cent, according to estimates by the Restaurant Association of Singapore, which says that profit margins in normal times are 1 to 1.5 per cent.

There were some bright spots in F&B – a handful of restaurants and cafes that were doing well. That was before last Friday's announcement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of more stringent safedistancing rules.

Restaurants cannot have dine-in customers for a month starting from Tuesday, and can offer only takeaways or deliveries.

Whatever advantage they had is gone now, for at least a month. Some are scrambling to work out takeout menus for customers who can no longer eat on their premises.

Ms Daphne Goh owns four cafes – Atlas Coffeehouse in Duke's Road, Columbus Coffee in Upper Thomson Road, Apollo Coffee Bar in Serangoon Garden Way and Lunar Coffee Brewers in OUE Downtown Gallery, the first three in residential areas.

She says: "Before the implementation of the social-distancing rule, we actually experienced a spike and were pleasantly surprised by the support from the community.

"It helps that we are situated in neighbourhoods and have many regular customers living nearby. With many working from home, it is much easier and more convenient for them to patronise our shops throughout the week."