In case you didn’t know, Daniel Ong, an outspoken radio DJ and TV host who’s also well-known for both the one-half of Twelve Cupcakes and the ex-husband of Jamie Teo, isn’t having a good 2020.
The popular ex-DJ run several businesses, and one of them is a chain of restaurants in CBD.
With monthly expenses of almost $65K and a lack of walk-in customers, he’s taken to social media to plead for his landlords to help out.
Yesterday’s Solidarity Budget might help, and the new laws that force landlords to pass the property tax savings rebate to tenants might help too, but with the Circuit Breaker measures, it’s almost like pasting a plaster on a gun wound.
And so he’s going all out to paste many plasters on his gun wound.
Delivery without Food Delivery Services
I once had a conversation with a hawker; he said that he’d be affected very badly, and when I asked why he’s not opted for food delivery services, he frowned and said, “They’re taking too much commission and I won’t earn anything.”
The commission can be up to 30%—so if your Bak Kut Teh costs $10, the hawker would only pocket $7. Remember, he still has many other expenses to pay for.
Which is why MPs have advocated to lower the commission of food delivery services, but as usual, it’s all an ecosystem: lower the commission and pay for delivery riders might be affected, and we might finally find our lunch delivery rider during dinner time.
Enterprise Singapore (ESG) is going to pay 5% of the commission to help the F&B industry, but while it’s commendable, the commission is still rather high.
And so, many F&B businesses have resorted to do delivery themselves, and Daniel Ong’s chain of restaurants, Rookery, is one of them.
The 44-year-old who looks like he’s in his early 20s creates a menu that’s specifically catered for delivery or pick-up, since dine-in is essentially banned now.
In his post, he said that his “friendly rookery team or even me doing the delivery ourselves to you.”
Yeah, imagine opening your door and seeing Mr Kiasi at your doorstep.
In addition, delivery would be island wide, though there’s no mention of any minimum delivery amount.
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Now, I guess you should be wondering: with the Circuit Breaker measures, shouldn’t F&B businesses huat big time?
After all, we need to eat even when we stay at home.
Apparently not.
80% of F&B Businesses Might Close
That’s a shocking number and before you pack your bag to migrate to Mars, hold your horses.
This is a number derived from an informal F&B group, so it might or might not be accurate.
However, it’s mentioned that some of them are seeing a drop in sales as people aren’t dining in, which, if you think about it, is the main attraction of any restaurant.
The problem is primarily the rental and manpower costs that continue to come in even with the drop in footfall.
To quote you an example, imagine you’re an employee who gets $1,000 a month, and your monthly bills are $900.
Your pay dropped to $100 a month, but your bills are still at $900.
That’s what many businesses, and restaurants, are facing.
So as you lie on your bed and watch the next episode of V Wars in Netflix, remember: continue to stay at home.
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If the Circuit Breaker measures are extended, you can bet that more businesses would die.
Imagine that even McDonald’s is going out of business.
Reader Bao: Don’t be silly. That won’t happen.
BMT recruits now stay at home.
Reader Bao: Okay I’ll stay at home for 4 weeks.
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