Phasing out traditional businesses

End of an era: Peter Tan is closing down See Kong Ooi.

IN LATE May, The Star ran a story on the closure of George Town’s iconic 84-year-old See Kong Ooi restaurant. After weeks of grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, third-generation owner Peter Tan said he had not been able to fend off the effects of being closed since March 18 due to the movement control order (MCO).

It opened as a small coffee shop business in 1936 by Tan Kong Chye and his wife who sold drinks and toasted bread to customers of hotels along Transfer Road.