Cantonese Restaurant Opened By Ex-Peony Jade Staff Operating At $30K Monthly Deficit, In Danger Of Closing Down
The Chinatown-based Fortune Court’s co-owner tells 8days.sg that business at the quiet location has been “so bad” lately that she might not even be able to keep her business running till Chinese New Year.
But according to some restaurant owners, the current business climate is possibly worse than what they had gone through the past few years.
Earlier this week, 8days.sg received an unusual WhatsApp text from Chinese restaurant Fortune Court, which opened in 2021 at Chinatown. The eatery serves solidly good Cantonese fare like lobster ee-fu noodles at reasonable prices.
Its message read: “Dear friends and valued customers, if you are free please come support Fortune Court Restaurant to sustain till CNY, thank you and greatly appreciated.”
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“Our sales have been bad at Chinatown”
When contacted by 8days.sg, Fortune Court’s co-owner and restaurant manager, Connie Chee, explains that the restaurant is currently going through very hard times.
“Recently our sales have been very bad in the Chinatown area, and our rent went up by 70 per cent from S$14,000 a month to $24,000,” she shares, adding that she had been paying the monthly rent of almost $24,000 since last year for her 38-seat Pagoda Street unit.
She sent us a photo of a deserted Fortune Court on a Saturday night, usually the busiest time for restaurants. “It’s Saturday, I only have two tables filled. Our prices are affordable,” she points out.
From Mondays to Thursdays, diners can also get a 40 per cent discount with no minimum spending on an a la carte order of X.O Lobster Ee-Fu Noodles, Deep-Fried Seabass, Egg White Conpoy with Crab Meat or Signature Buttery Prawns.
But it doesn’t help that the once-touristy Pagoda Street is now a shadow of its heyday — the shophouse stretch, which used to thrive with many souvenir shops and stalls, is now boarded up for redevelopment.
Relocating is not an option for Connie, as she doesn’t have enough funds to do so. “If there is an interested investor, we can look for a better and cheaper location to carry on,” she shares.
The “root of the matter”, Connie shares, is “slow sales”, as many people are travelling overseas. “After struggling for a year, we may be forced to leave or close down our business if sales are still so bad. If we can afford to pay even one month of rent, it would help,” she says dejectedly.
She tried reaching out to her regulars to drum up business, but was told by many of them that they were currently on holiday. “They said they will support us for CNY. But I’m afraid that we may be asked to leave anytime now ’cos we can’t pay rent,” shares Connie.
She has since sent a proposal to her landlord to reduce her monthly rent and pay off the arrears in instalments, though she has yet to receive a response.
“Sometimes dreams are just expensive”
Opening Fortune Court was “a dream” for Connie, who was retrenched in 2020 from her restaurant manager job at Peony Jade’s Clarke Quay outlet, when the company decided to close it.
Undeterred, she later set up her own restaurant with a few ex-colleagues. “In 2021, rent and manpower costs were still manageable, at around $13,000 to $25,000 a month. We could still manage, could still break even. But now, in 2024, the rent and [overhead] costs just went up so fast… I’m already four months behind on rent. I feel a little helpless,” she reveals.
The plights faced by F&B owners are not always obvious; while the industry is notorious for its long working hours, Connie candidly shares that she “sometimes also sleeps in the shop to save money on commuting”.
But still, it remains a Sisyphean challenge for her to keep her restaurant afloat. “Every month, the bills stack higher, and I have to dig into my savings. I put everything I have into this business. No matter how I try, it’s still very hard to get out of the red,” she rues.
She adds: “I just want to keep my doors open, serve my regulars, make good food for them. But every month, that dream feels more and more far away. Our food is good, but I know deep down we can’t make it without some support. Sometimes dreams are just expensive (laughs).”
Fortune Court is at 31 Pagoda St, S059190. Tel: 9234-9969. Open daily 11am-3pm, 5.30pm-10pm. www.facebook.com/fortunecourtsg
Photos: Kelvin Chia
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