You may have heard recently that the Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar rental prices are getting more exorbitant.
While we are paying for hipster bagels and churros at a price slightly over our budgets, stallholders bear the brunt of the high costs.
However, the organisers have clarified this whole situation and the issues that have come with it. Convincing or not, things sure are expensive.
The Actual Rental Rates
On Tuesday (4 April), the organisers of the bazaar announced through a release that the base rental rates were $2,000 to $12,000 for retail stalls and $14,000 to $19,000 for F&B stalls.
F&B stalls are imposed further incidental costs of between $30 to $3,100 for utilities, water supply, fans, coolers, tables and chairs.
Ramly burgers and kebabs are deemed to be premium products by the organisers. They limited the number of stalls selling these items in fear that there would be very stiff competition if too many stalls were to sell them.
As such, only 20 out of 150 F&B stalls sell these items.
The organisers have said that there could be more than one stall selling Ramly burgers or kebabs in one zone, but they are spread out.
Stalls selling Ramly burgers must pay a $4,000 premium on top of the base rental.
Kebab stalls are the exception for F&B stalls, having to pay a whopping $25,000 for rent.
Further Costs for the Organisers
The organisers incurred additional costs in making the bazaar a better experience for visitors through more dining seating areas and introducing new concept zones.
This year, the organisers also spent more on the security and safety of the bazaar.
They deployed more auxiliary police officers and incurred further costs on security equipment such as surveillance cameras.
Exclusivity: A Myth?
Two kebab stall operators had mentioned earlier that the organisers promised exclusivity, only to be surprised in the end.
The owner of Pasha Turkish Kebab, located in a tent along Onan Road, said that the organisers told him the stall would be the only one selling kebabs in that area if he paid $24,000 for rent.
He said he was only willing to pay the premium for the exclusivity.
Strangely enough, the owner of The Botak BBQ and Grill, another kebab stall that later popped up less than 50 metres away from Pasha Turkish Kebab, was also told the same thing by organisers.
The owner of the Original Taste of Malaysia stall said that the organisers had come down to his booth to change its signage not to show that it sold Ramly burgers.
He claimed that the organisers even threatened to close his booth by bringing down management from Wisma Geylang Serai and two security guards.
He has, however, continued selling the burgers, as when he signed the agreement between vendors and organisers, there was no clause regarding what he could and could not sell.
Regarding kebab and Ramly burger stalls, the organisers said they would have already informed the owners about the location and numbers of the stalls and the requirement for them to pay the additional premium price.
They mentioned in the release that they were in contact with the affected stall operators and would work towards resolving the matters amicably.