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Vogue Singapore
03-07-2025
- Business
- Vogue Singapore
As Singapore's F&B businesses shutter, what is left in their wake?
Heidi Tan was 21 years old when she decided to open her own patisserie. 'When you start so young, you don't have as much fear because you haven't tasted failure yet,' the Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef says with a laugh. 'I would say that starting a business is fairly easy. But sustaining a business'—she pauses, her tone turning pensive—'that is the difficult part.' Tan opened Flor Patisserie's first outlet on Duxton Hill in 2010, before the area became a magnet for the hip restaurants that line its streets today. 'There was no other Japanese patisserie in Singapore back then,' she confirms. 'We were the leader in this category, which put us in a very good spot.' The patisserie quickly gained a dedicated fan following for its intricate Japanese-inspired French pastries and cakes, always made fresh and with the highest-quality ingredients available. With the help of a small but growing team, Tan expanded the business's footprint across Singapore, from kiosks in high-traffic malls like Ngee Ann City and Funan to a storefront on East Coast Road. Flor Patisserie's Duxton Hill outlet, which closed in 2024 after 14 years of operation. @flor_patisserie Today, the brand operates from a single outlet in a stretch of quaint shophouses on Siglap Drive, where it has been for 12 years. Located in a largely residential area with veterinary clinics and tuition centres as its neighbours, the cake shop has become a beloved community fixture which draws customers from all corners of the island—a winning example of Singapore's fervent food culture. That is, until July this year. Facing an unsustainable rent hike (a proposed increase in the monthly rent from $5,400 to $8,500, a 57 percent rise), Tan has made the difficult decision to close Flor Patisserie's final outlet. 'It was the pandemic that opened my eyes to how unsustainable running a brick-and-mortar business is in Singapore. Even big chains find it difficult to survive—so what more small, independent businesses, which don't have economies of scale to rely on?' Tan reflects, pointing to global chains like Hai Di Lao and Burger & Lobster, among others, which have shuttered in the past year. To survive the sluggish markets brought on by COVID-19, Tan had made the decision to close Flor Patisserie's higher-rent units in Duxton and East Coast, instead consolidating her resources into her Siglap Drive outlet. 'When we closed all the other shops at the height of the pandemic and retreated to this one, I did my calculations and told my team that the next two years were going to be hard. I wouldn't be able to give them their annual increment. But they understood completely,' Tan shares, her eyes welling up with tears. 'That's why I'm very sad to have to let them go now. Because they stood by me still.' Singapore's dining scene is headed in a troubling direction: flattened and faceless, rather than a true reflection of the country's character. For Tan's business to survive, a 57 percent hike in rent would require her to pass on a bulk of the cost to her customers—something she's reluctant to do. 'I will need to increase my prices at least by 30 percent,' she explains. 'This will completely alienate my patrons. 'We lost many customers when we closed our other outlets because it was a hassle to travel here. Our location is not the best as it has very little parking available and is 20 minutes from the nearest MRT station. We foresaw that drop in sales and planned for it—but now, with the rent increase, it just doesn't make sense.' The recent cascade of homegrown restaurants, bars and cafes shuttering across the island signals that Singapore's culinary landscape is headed in a troubling direction: flattened and faceless, rather than a true reflection of the country's character and the melange of identities that exist within it. This move towards becoming a hyper-globalised destination dominated by universal name-brands begs the question: what do we stand to lose when local businesses cannot survive? 'It is the small, independent business that adds vibrancy to the market,' Tan says. 'Local brands represent what the Singaporean identity truly is. As more big international businesses replace the small guys, the landscape will inevitably become sterile and cookie-cutter.' If this is Flor Patisserie's final chapter, what Tan finds the hardest to say goodbye to are the loyal patrons she has served time and time again, seeing them through numerous milestones. 'We have customers who started dating, then got married, then had children. And we've made the cakes for them to celebrate each occasion,' she says, emotion clouding her voice. 'That's what disappoints me the most about having to close—the community that has kept us going all these years and that we will no longer get to serve.' Hazel Long, Junior the Pocket Bar Hazel Long fell into bartending by accident. 'People don't believe me when I say this, but when I entered the industry, I didn't drink. I was looking to earn extra pocket money while in university and knew nothing about being a bartender,' she says. Today, the 30-year-old helms Junior the Pocket Bar, a speakeasy on Ann Siang Hill known for attracting a stylish, insider crowd. In Long's words, Junior became a cult favourite not because of size but soul. The bar rotates between a diverse Rolodex of concepts, from New Orleans jazz to Korea's Joseon dynasty, with a full remodel—from decor to cocktail list—accompanying each new theme, making the experience exceptionally immersive. Junior the Pocket Bar. Courtesy of Junior The Pocket Bar When Long announced Junior's seemingly abrupt closure earlier this year, messages of grief and support poured in from across the industry. 'If I could have kept us open, I would have,' she muses. 'The truth is that I had reached a point beyond burnout. With constant inflation, it became unsustainable to keep going.' Long had originally started running Junior with a partner, who left the business during COVID-19. 'The pandemic was challenging. Almost every day, we had to navigate new guidelines in order to stay open while keeping our patrons safe. But I took on ownership because I wanted to keep the spirit of Junior alive and also take care of my team.' It was ultimately the long-term effects of the pandemic, rather than its most immediate challenges, that took the largest toll on the business. 'Pandemic lockdowns fundamentally shifted Singapore's cocktail culture. As people got accustomed to staying home, the desire to spend nights out also seemed to dwindle,' Long reflects. 'Before COVID-19, it was normal for a pair of guests to have five drinks between them in two hours. These days, it's often just one each. That loss adds up, especially in a space where every seat is precious real estate.' Long points to this drop in spending, combined with inflationary pressures across the board, as the key reasons that running the business became unsustainable. 'When eggs cost more at FairPrice, it's the same for bars. We don't get a special wholesale deal,' she says. 'Everything goes up.' With the growing graveyard of independent businesses shuttering one after another, a culture of fear has begun to take hold of Singapore's F&B industry. Rising costs have led to a steady creep in cocktail prices not only at Junior, but the majority of bars across Singapore. While Long sympathises with customers balking at the nightlife experience increasingly becoming more expensive, she explains that what may look like inflated pricing is often the only way a business can survive. 'There is this conception that bars pour some liquid into a fancy glass and slap a price tag on it at random. Understandably, some patrons don't know what a $28 cocktail actually entails. They don't see the 48 hours of prep that goes behind an infusion or the technique involved in manipulating it until it turns into gold. At a place like Junior, you are also paying for the venue, lighting and trained staff, which all come together to create that curated experience,' Long says. Beyond the loss of a beloved presence in the cocktail community, Junior's closure is also symptomatic of a larger problem: the steady erosion of individuality in our nightlife scene. 'If this keeps going and more independent businesses close, Singapore risks losing its edge and falling off as a nightlife destination,' Long warns. 'We rely heavily on tourism and on places like ours, not just chains.' With the growing graveyard of independent businesses shuttering one after another, she agrees that a culture of fear has begun to take hold of Singapore's F&B industry. This could turn promising talent away from joining the field, worsening the problem further. 'Right now, I'm just trying to grieve properly,' Long says. 'It's easy to feel like you have to move on quickly or find the next thing. But I gave everything I had to Junior. I need time to reckon with that loss.' She's not sure what comes next, but she's not ruling out a return. 'I still love the bar world,' she says with a smile. 'I just need to miss it a little first.' Vogue Singapore's July/August 'Home' issue will be out on newsstands from 13 July and available to preorder online.
Buzz Feed
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
17 Black Celebs Who Are Also Super Accomplished Outside Of The Entertainment Industry
Most celebrities tend to stick to what they're best at, such as acting, singing, playing a sport, etc. However, some of them find a second passion, career, or hobby that's super impressive. Here are 17 Black celebrities with impressive accomplishments outside the career that made them famous: 1. Singer/songwriter and the Queen of Neo-Soul Erykah Badu is also a doula. She's delivered more than 50 babies — including Summer Walker's three and Teyana Taylor's youngest — since 2001. In 2024, Erykah told Essence,"It's a sisterhood. It's childbirth, it's a ceremony, it's a spiritual walk. And doulas are not created, they are born. You're born with that type of heart and patience, and you're drawn towards the work. I had some very talented and patient mentors, one being Shafia Monroe. Shafia is the founder of the ICTC [the International Center for Traditional Childbearing]." "I went through her program after [I'd] participated in 14 births. So, I learned what they call direct-entry midwifery. That means you learn in the field. I got my certification in 2001 from ICTC where I learned textbook, technical things that I wouldn't have known. You have the instinct, but you learn to speak the language as a birth worker. Because we didn't have that before the late 1900s. We didn't have permission to [be] birth workers. We were doing it, but the '80s and '90s [which was] when we really started to be accepted. So a network is necessary, and the network shouldn't exclude the doula. The doula is the conductor. After pulling everything together, the doula disappears into a corner but still helps and holds space as needed. You become patient. You walk softly. It seeps into your everyday life. You are of service at all times. The greatest among you shall be your servant," she said. 2. Kelis is a chef and Le Cordon Bleu-trained saucier. She went to culinary school after a battle with her label left her with a bad taste for the music industry in her mouth. In 2014, she told the Guardian, "After Kelis Was Here, I was done. I was like, 'I will never put out another record again. I hate this business. I hate all these people.' I was in this race that I didn't even realize that I was in. I woke up, and ten years had passed. That was never my plan. My desire was never to put out albums, it was to do musical theatre!" She continued, "I realized that there was something else that I adored. There's a point where you think, 'What else will I do if I don't do music?' It becomes your identity when it never should have been. But food ignited a fire in me, and I came right back to music because it no longer felt like a job. It was a really powerful thing for me." 3. Yara Shahidi graduated from Harvard in 2022. She got her undergraduate degree in social studies and African American studies with a focus on "Black political thought under a neocolonial landscape." Yara also balanced her full-time acting career with her education, including her 136-page thesis "I Am a Man: The Emancipation of Humanness from Western Hegemony Through the Lens of Sylvia Wynte." She told Vogue, "It's surreal to have finally hit this major milestone. I've known I wanted to go to college since I was four. By 17, I knew exactly what I wanted to study, so to see that come to fruition is a goal was important for me, as a young adult, to prove to myself — during these times of transition — that I am capable, and perhaps more capable than I give myself credit." Her application included a letter of recommendation from First Lady Michelle Obama. 4. While earning her double bachelor's degrees in theatre and international studies at Northwestern, Meghan Markle did a summer internship at the American embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2014, she began working as an Advocate for Political Participation and Leadership for the UN's women's agency. However, her advocacy work began long before her work with the government. At only 11, a dish soap ad with the tagline "Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans" inspired her to take action. At a 2015 UN event, she recalled, "Two boys from my class said, 'Yeah. That's where women belong — in the kitchen. I remember feeling shocked and angry and also just feeling so hurt. It just wasn't right, and something needed to be 11-year-old self worked out that if I really wanted someone to hear, well then I should write a letter to the first lady. So off I went scribbling away to our first lady at the time, Hillary Clinton." She also wrote to newscaster Linda Ellerbee, "powerhouse attorney" Gloria Allred, and the company behind the commercial. The three women wrote her back, and Linda sent a news crew to cover her story. Megan said, "It was roughly a month later when the soap manufacturer, Proctor and Gamble, changed the commercial for their Ivory Clear Dishwashing Liquid ... from 'Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans' to "People all over America ...' It was at that moment that I realized the magnitude of my actions. At the age of 11, I had created my small level of impact by standing up for equality." 5. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson set random two Guinness World Records (though they've both been broken). Firstly, in 2015, he set the record for most selfies taken in three minutes. At the San Andreas premiere, he took 105 selfies with fans in three minutes. Here's the video he shared celebrating his accomplishment: Secondly, in 2017, The Rock and his company, Seven Bucks Studios, broke the Guinness World Record for the largest layered dip. Their creation clocked in at 540 lbs! They donated it to the Los Angeles Midnight Mission. You can watch a video of the team assembling the dip here. The current record holder is Busch's Beans, who made a 1,087-lbs 70-layer bean dip in 2020. 6. As an undergrad, Shaquille O'Neal left Louisiana State University before graduating to play for the NBA. Later, he went back to school, earning a doctorate in education from Barry University in 2012. His thesis was about humor's value in leadership. He told ABC News, "One, I promised my parents I would [follow my passion for education]. Two, I wanted to continue my education, and three, I wanted to challenge myself. The hardest part was getting back into high school mode. You ever have that high school teacher that says, 'You've got to read six chapters over the weekend?' ...Only the children can call me Shaq, the adults have to address me as Dr. O'Neal." 7. Per PV Magazine, in 2014, Akon — who grew up in a part of Senegal that didn't have electricity — launched Akon Lighting Africa. Within its first year, the initiative brought sustainable and solar-powered electricity to 14 countries in Africa, including Senegal, through solar panels and street lamps. As of 2020, that number has grown to 25 nations. In 2018, Akon told Global Citizen, "A few events and situations in my life made me realize the importance of energy. First of all, growing up as a child in Senegal, I have memories of the lack of energy and the impact this had on my family. Later in life, I would go to Senegal to visit my family year after year, and I realized, 'It's been over 5, 10, 20 years, and still nothing has changed.'" He continued, "People in rural areas and certain communities still did not have access to energy. Finally, I performed at a concert in Liberia, and after a few songs, the lights went out, almost causing a riot amongst over 50,000 fans. I realized that, without energy, I could not even perform music in Africa. This is what really inspired me to start Akon Lighting Africa." 8. Per the BBC, professional soccer player Didier Drogba is credited with helping bring peace to his home country, the Ivory Coast, after a four-year conflict. In 2005, after his team won their World Cup qualifying match against Sudan, he made a televised speech urging his fellow Ivorians to "forgive," "lay down [their] weapons," and "hold elections." He said, "All will be better. We want to have fun, so stop firing your guns." That year, there was no bloodshed during the elections. Then, per Vanity Fair, in 2007, he helped unite the Ivory Coast by suggesting his team's match against Madagascar be held in the rebellion's capital, Bouaké. Ivory Coast Football Federation official Christophe Diecket told the outlet, "When I saw Drogba say that on television, I got goosebumps. My wife cried. The people on TV cried. We Ivorians, we had this abscess, a sickness, but we had no way to lance it to get better. It couldn't have been done by anyone else. Only Drogba. He's the one who has cured us of this war." Prime Minister Guillaume Soro said, "The fact that this game is being played in the capital of what was called the rebellion in Ivory Coast is a symbol of the unity that Ivorians have found anew and of our national reconciliation." He also called Didier "a national hero" and said that "all of Africa is proud of him." "This game is taking place because Drogba came to Bouaké to consecrate reconciliation and reinforce peace," Soro said. 9. Following the devastation Hurricane Beryl had on her hometown of Houston in 2024, Megan Thee Stallion launched the Emergency Power Program through her Pete & Thomas Foundation. The program provides generators to senior citizens during hurricane season. In a statement, Megan said, "It's been painful to watch the elderly population in Houston suffer without electricity during these devastating storms. That's why we wanted to partner with Bread of Life to take a strategic approach to this problem and secure generators to help protect our senior need to do our part to provide our elders with the best resources possible to withstand future emergencies." Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images for Giambattista Valli Megan has a lifelong passion for helping older populations. In 2021, she told E! News, "I have always dreamt of opening an elder care facility to help the elderly. I can't wait to get with my classmates and put everyone to work helping our grandparents." She graduated with her bachelor's in health administration from Texas Southern University in 2021. Michael Reaves / Getty Images 10. In 2023, Pharrell Williams became Louis Vuitton's men's creative director. In a statement, Pietro Beccari, the brand's chief executive and chairperson, said, "I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter." Jacopo Raule / Getty Images Pharrell told the New York Times, "I'm a Black man — they have given this appointment to a Black man. This is the crown jewel of the LVMH portfolio. It's everything, and I was appointed to rule in this position. So No. 1, a ruler of a position is usually like a king. But a ruler of this position for me is a perpetual student. It's what I intend to be." Shane Anthony Sinclair / Getty Images for BFI 11. In 2017, Terry Crews began a new career as a furniture designer at Bernhardt Design. He told AN Interior, "First of all, being a football player is a very limiting world. It's very, very limiting. People already have so many preconceived notions of who you are because it's almost like a cookie cutter. But you have to understand the football thing and the art thing has never been separate with me, ever. When I went to college, I would go to the little art classes with the people in black who were so sad, and I was like, 'Hey, you all, how are you all doing?' I got my letterman jacket on, I was like, 'Alright!' And then I go right to practice after that and people … there were others that had issues. Now, I know I'm an artist. I know what I do." Michael Loccisano / Getty Images He continued, "And then when Jerry Helling, the President of Bernhardt Design, came to me and said, 'I want to do something with you,' and I'm like, 'Cool, we can find a designer, we can… ' He's like, 'No, no, no, no, no. I want you to design it – pivot time.' It just went back to — 'We need you, we know you're a linebacker, but we need you to play defensive end on this point.' 'We know you do drama, but here's comedy right here.' I'm the riskiest guy ever. I try everything. They were like, 'We want you to host the Who Wants to be a Millionaire.' I was like, 'Okay,' and I didn't know what I was doing." Kym Illman / Getty Images "I mean, look at Regis and look at me. I got a 200-pound difference, me and Regis or any other host they have, Meredith Vieira. But I said, 'You know what? This is where all the action is,' and it's funny because I'm thankful. By this practice of doing this, I've built a career where no one is shocked at what I'm doing," he said. 12. In 2022, Anthony Mackie partnered with the roofing manufacturer GAF to help repair New Orleans residents' roofs that were damaged by Hurricane Ida. He personally worked alongside GAF Roofing Academy students as part of their training, helping to replace a U.S. Air Force veteran's roof. Anthony told Roofing Contractor, "As the son of a roofer, there is a sense of pride that comes with repairing a neighbor's home. Helping to train people from this area in the roofing skills they need to not only earn a meaningful living but also help their neighbors when the next storm hits … means everything to me." Jesse Grant / Getty Images for Disney Within a year, the initiative repaired 500 roofs. 13. In 2009, Venus and Serena Williams bought a minority stake in the Miami Dolphins, making them the first Black women to hold any ownership stake in an NFL team. Venus told ESPN, "To have this opportunity is really where our heart is. We're South Florida girls. When we get off the road, this is where we come home to. When we come home to Dolphins games, it's going to be exciting." Serena said, "We're really honored. Venus and I in tennis have tried to do so much for the sport. We're really excited to even have this opportunity." Miami Herald / Tribune News Service via Getty Images 14. In 2008, Patti LaBelle founded Patti's Good Life as a hot sauce brand, and she's since expanded it into a massive comfort food brand where every product is based on one of her original recipes. According to Forbes, in 2022, the company made almost $200 million in gross sales and $20 million in revenue. Patti and her son are the sole owners, and their products are super popular at Walmart and Target. For example, in 2015, her new sweet potato pie went viral, and in the three days leading up to Thanksgiving, Walmart was selling a pie every second. She told Forbes, "My cooking is going places where my singing career has not gone." Paras Griffin / Getty Images 15. Growing up, Nicole Richie was a talented figure skater, and she almost went pro. When she graduated high school, her parents gave her the option to either go to college or become a professional figure skater, but she chose to get her degree. In 2019, she told Good Morning America, "That was a real time for me. I was going to tutorial school, I was figure skating at 5 o'clock in the morning. It was my entire world." Gilbert Carrasquillo / GC Images / Via Getty 16. MLB player Mookie Betts is also a professional bowler. During a PBA World Championship qualifier in 2017, he scored a perfect game. He grew up bowling, and his mom was a competitive bowler. In 2024, he told NBC, "Bowling is in my is so complex. You have to be creative. There's a lot of visualization when it comes to bowling, just like baseball." Mat Hayward / Getty Images for Mookie Betts 5050 Foundation 17. And finally, during the NBA COVID bubble in 2020, Jimmy Butler used his espresso machine to open a coffee shop called Big Face Coffee in his hotel room for other players, charging them $20 a cup. Once he was outside of the bubble, he turned the side hustle into an actual brand. In late 2024, he opened his first brick-and-mortar coffee shop. Jim Poorten / NBAE via Getty Images He told the Miami Herald, "It means the world to me, man. Because this is only one aspect of my life, and I'm talking about basketball. I want to be able to go into a space and treat it as my home and just be around other coffee lovers, people that love to vacay, love to go to museums, love to take their kids to the park...I'm always there. Probably you'll catch me from like 8 to 10 a.m. But I want to implement a rule where you come in and you talk. It's not about being able to take a picture with myself or being able to take a picture with Neymar, whenever I make him come in there, or whoever else you see on a billboard or on the TV or on socials. You go in there, and you have a conversation with them, and you get to learn more about them. That's where this whole dream of making a coffee shop came from, and I want to make it a safe haven for everybody." Alexander Tamargo / Getty Images for Haute Living Which celeb's accomplishments impressed you the most? Who else would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments! Check out more Black-centered content by exploring how BuzzFeed is celebrating Black History Month this year! Of course, the content doesn't end after February. Follow BuzzFeed's Cocoa Butter on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to keep up with our latest Black culture content year-round. Charlotte Gomez/BuzzFeed
