Singapore exists as a food paradise to many locals and tourists alike. However, the recent developments of Covid 19 have led to challenging times for the F&B industry.
A survey done in May 2020 found that 2 in 5 restaurants in Singapore would not be able to operate for another 2 months (Kimes.S, 2021). 11% had also retrenched staff and about 42% had instituted pay cuts. This is due to a host of factors such as a ban on dine-in business during the Circuit Breaker and lack of subsidies provided.
However, before the Circuit Breaker measures, many Michelin-starred restaurants had been thriving during the pandemic. As Emmanuel Stroobant, a chef and owner of two Michelin-starred restaurants in Singapore, puts it, fine dining “remains one of the few forms of entertainment that consumers can experience in the current climate.” Diners, he said, have also been willing to spend more (Warren.K, 2021). The stricter measures had fueled an even greater demand for diners to make their reservations months in advance.
Evidently, when Phase III of measures in Singapore got relaxed after Circuit Breaker, the rebound in the F&B industry was especially strong in the luxury dining sector with more people willing to spend more at many fine establishments (Ee.J, 2020).
