Telok Blangah coffee shop stallholder rallies fellow hawkers to offer $2 budget meals to curb low footfall

There have been plenty of complaints from diners about rising food costs of late. 

From paying $11.50 for 'cai fan' to an outrageous $24 for nasi padang.

So, it's rather surprising to know that several hawkers at Coffee & Tea, a coffee shop at Blk 78A Telok Blangah Street 32, have rallied together to offer $2 budget meals to their customers starting today (April 27).

"We are going back to the old days with $2 meals to make everyone happy," said hawker Dominic Neo, who is spearheading the initiative. 

Neo owns Liang Ji Legendary Char Kway Teow, and he has been in the F&B scene for over 20 years. 

Low footfall, poor sales 

The 49-year-old shared with AsiaOne that a big reason for the $2 budget meal drive is simply because business hasn't been good for some of the stalls over at that coffee shop, including his. 

"A lot of coffee shops are losing their crowds," he said, citing factors like the pandemic and the GST hike which affect the prices of raw materials.

"I believe a lot of vendors saw a fall in sales by about 30 per cent to 50 per cent." 

His stall has been operating in that coffee shop for about a year. 

He also shared that the reopening of the nearby Seah Im Food Centre last month has affected the coffee shop's footfall too. 

"What we want to do is draw in more of the older citizens as well as new diners," Neo told AsiaOne. 

He added that the coffee shop's drinks stall will also start selling budget-friendly drinks from May 1 onwards. 

This group of stallholders is also considering to extend this budget initiative to two months if necessary. 

Some tenants were reluctant 

Understandably, some of the stallholders were not keen on his idea at the beginning, concerned that they may end up losing more money.

"It was very very difficult to convince them. They are business people. They want to earn money," said Neo.

But he argued that one has to take risks at times. 

"You lose something, you gain something," Neo told us in Chinese. 

After much convincing, six other hawkers have agreed to sell budget meals, he said. Seven other stalls have decided not to take up his idea.

He said he has roped in some stallholders selling Western food, Indian-Muslim food and economy rice to lower their prices.

The hawkers who declined to join his initiative cited the high cost of ingredients. 

Some $2 options diners can look forward to are crispy fish with rice from the Western food stall and two pieces of prata (usual price $2.40) from the Indian-Muslim stall. 

Neo said he will lower the price of his black and white carrot cake from $3.50 to $2. 

AsiaOne has reached out to the owners of some of these stalls for comments. 

Government's plans for cheaper food

In a speech to Parliament on March 2, Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann shared the Government's plan to increase "budget meal" options at coffee shops.

She said that all older rental coffee shops due for renewal from May will need to provide four budget meals and two budget drinks, as a condition for the renewal of their three-year tenancy.

These budget meals are typically priced at between $3 and $3.50, and basic drinks cost around $1 to $1.15. They must also be full meal options and not side dishes or snacks. 

Coffee shops must also serve a minimum of two budget drinks – kopi-o (black coffee) and teh-o (black tea).

ALSO READ: A blessing to find this kind of pricing in 2023, says customer of Bedok stall selling $2 economic rice

melissateo@asiaone.com

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