SINGAPORE: The discourse around the Geylang Serai Bazaar rental costs this year has not come to rest with new progressions added to the saga.
The bazaar had already caused much uproar when it was first known to have rental prices of up to $18,000, which in recent discoveries, has increased to $24,000.
Straits Times reported that Pasha Turkish Kebab owner, Amr Elgoharoi, was agreeable to paying $24,000 if the organisers granted him a stall in a tent nearby Onan Road, which would’ve given him the exclusivity of being the only kebab vendor in that particular area.
However, that was not the case, as another kebab franchise had opened up less than 50m away from his stall, which left him regretting his decision to pay a premium.
“$18,000 a month a stall, for the Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar, easily the world’s most expensive pasar malam stall offering an unproportionately cheap menu. Even top pop-up markets in prime time New York or LA cannot hold a candle to this. Justifying our world’s most expensive city reputation I guess. How did we get here?” Prominent food blogger Kf Seetoh wrote on his Facebook page on 21 March.
“A vendor told me he is down $31k even before he opens. Rental, utilities, maintenance, set up, shelving and four staff to cook, wash, serve, open and close up. And that 31k excludes food costs. Imagine, he has to clear 1k a day just to break even… oops, I forgot taxes,” he commented.
While there have been numerous complaints about the exorbitant rental costs, it does not seem to stop many stall owners from participating in the Geylang Serai Bazaar. Many still believe it is a great time for business and an avenue for small business owners who serve halal food but lack halal certification to reach the Muslim demographic.
Yan Ling, the co-founder of Big Big Fries, shared with The Independent Singapore that they’ve always been in the bazaar and fair scene, but there’s a lack of Muslim patrons in their previous experiences, and they joined the Geylang Serai Bazaar to reach out to the Muslim community.
”All our ingredients are halal certified,” Yan Ling stated.
Yan Ling also shared that many stalls in the bazaar, including hers, have halal consultants who are there to attest that all the ingredients are halal-certified, even if the establishment might not be.
Fiona, the owner of whiskdom, who is co-sharing a booth with Big Big Fries, brought up the fact that the bazaar is the more economical option for small business owners such as herself to gain exposure.
“If you want to open up a space in a shopping centre or in a mall, the three months security deposit actually sets us back. So this time round, the cost of setting up, the initial capital outlay is not as high as if you were to set up shop in a shopping centre instead,” explained Fiona.
Another stall owner named Cindy, who is the owner of Mr Teh Tarik Mengucapkan, said that she has no regrets about joining the bazaar this year because “the crowd is still huge” and that they are still profitable despite the high rental.
The Wisma Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar is the largest scale ever this year, with 700 stalls and 36 days of operation that started on March 17 and will continue until April 21.
Approximately 200 stalls are still available for rent; the organisers of Wisma Geylang Serai said that more stalls would have occupancy in the following weeks as many vendors typically open their stalls during the later part of Ramadan, depending on the relevancy of their products.