We’ve heard that tough times don’t last, but tough people do.
This is the case for the stall owner of Poh Kee Chicken Rice who had to pivot to selling Wanton Mee instead of his chicken rice meals as the Malaysia chicken export ban kicked in.
On top of that, the owner had to deal with a rental increase of $2,000.
Stress due to Rental Increase
According to MustShareNews, the owner of Poh Kee Chicken Rice stall shared on Facebook that their rental has increased from $5,000 to $7,000.
(That’s a whole $2,000 increase. For reference, a barista hired at a big franchise earns about $1,600 per month in Singapore.)
There were also only given a few days since 1 June to decide if they want to accept the increased lease or move out of their current stall.
The owner hopes to stay at the current stall which is located at a coffee shop in Block 206, Toa Payoh North.
However, they commented “but if the worse happens, it will happen” if the stall isn’t able to make enough to cover the extra rental given.
In order to cover the extra rental increase, the stall has resorted to discontinuing its $3.50 meal set and will only sell the $4.50 and $5.50 meal sets instead.
Selling Wanton Mee after Fresh Chicken Supply Ran Out
As if the increased rental wasn’t enough, the stall owner also have to deal with the impact of the Malaysia chicken export ban.
Since 2 June, the stall has ran out of their fresh chicken supply which marked their first day of selling wanton mee instead.
According to AsiaOne, the stall owners were initially afraid of what’s going to happen if they could only rely on wanton mee to keep their stall going during the chicken export ban.
The owner was afraid as his wanton noodle sales has never been enough to cover the rent costs of his stall.
However, as of Thursday (2 June), the stall has received immense support from friends which led to their wanton mee being sold out by 5:00pm.
Heart of Gold Despite Hard Times
Despite the trying circumstances of the stall owner of Poh Kee Chicken Rice stall, he’s known to care for the community even when times are hard.
In 2020 during Circuit Breaker period, the same stall owner had participated in the “Egg for a cause” project where he gave free eggs to meal donations made to Tan Tock Seng hospital.
Even though he has stated he will stop selling the $3.50 meal sets at his stall, the stall owner continued to make exceptions for the needy, asking those who have trouble paying to let them know.
“We are sure we can work something out,” said the stall owner.
Featured Image: Facebook (Poh Kee Chicken Rice)