SINGAPORE: Operations and rents in Urban Hawker in New York are way cheaper than in prime Orchard Road and Marina Bay Sands (MBS) food halls, says Makansutra founder KF Seetoh in a Facebook post on Monday night (June 2), explaining that he knows this because Makansutra was their setup consultant.
Mr Seetoh said he needed to “exhale some facts and realities” after seeing the news of how a group of retail and food and beverage (F&B) players were banding up to raise concerns over the “sky is the limit” rents, operating costs, and manpower woes in Singapore.
Pointing out that manpower is not a major issue in New York City, and people there pay market prices for food even in the Times Square and Rockefeller Centre area, where Urban Hawker is located, he said, “Sure, taxes may be higher but it works out way better than paying ridiculous 5 figure stall rents plus a profit percentage.”
“In Singapore, selling S$8 platters. It’s US$17 for fried hokkien mee in Urban Hawker and there’s no entitled customers about prices there…,” he added.
Mr Seetoh said, “Retailers, hawkers and restaurants need to survive. They pay full price for other living and business costs here, too. Who’s gonna take up your shops and stalls if you happy keep cranking up that rent and operation cost machine?” warning that the current setup will only push hawkers and small operators out.
“Rethink this whole business infrastructure. Put on your crystal ball and binos and look ahead, it’s bleak. Don’t even talk about affordable food for the masses in the future, for a start,” he added.
One commenter blamed “insatiable landlords” who keep raising rent and making it difficult for small hawkers and retailers to survive.
Another pointed out that, unlike Singapore, which charges customers for takeaway containers, “Urban Hawker portions are American-sized, and if you need to dabao your leftovers, the containers are free.”
The concerns raised by Mr Seetoh echo what many in the F&B sector are going through. In February, a hawker with a vegetarian stall at Serangoon Road, who had operated for over 10 years, moved out after learning that his rent would rise to S$3,000 from just S$930 due to a new operator. He said the rent was too much, as he was only earning enough to survive.
In October 2024, Singapore’s monthly F&B business closures surpassed even pandemic levels, with government data showing that over 3,000 F&B outlets had closed by the end of last year.
More recent figures don’t offer much relief. The Department of Statistics reported a 2.8% drop in F&B sales in March this year compared to the previous year. This followed a sharper 5.7% year-on-year (YoY) drop in February.
In April, government data revealed that an average of 307 F&B businesses had closed each month in 2025 due to high costs and fewer diners, up from 254 in 2024.
Mr Seetoh said, “There are more harsh realities I know about doing business in Singapore than what I tell you here. I will tell more soon.” In the comments, he added, “Looks like we need to go back to Rent Control Act days.” /TISG