How a Malaysian restaurant was saved from closure by loyal fans

Wizards was all geared up to close for good in July 2021, but is now back in business after fans of the restaurant invested in the business. — LEE YEW KHEONG

A few months ago, popular Kuala Lumpur brunch haven Wizards at Tribeca announced that it would be closing its doors for good at the end of July 2021.

But over two months after that timeline expired, Wizards is still in operation, thanks to a serendipitous turn of events.

“We were supposed to close in July because our tenancy was going to end and we thought it wasn’t worth it to go on because we were bleeding so much money. And all the co-owners – myself included – thought that even if we put more money in, we didn’t know when we would see any returns. So we decided to call it a day,” explains the eatery’s co-founder Lee Yew Kheong.

Having made that decision, one of the co-owners then thought it might be a good idea to put feelers out to see if anyone was interested in taking over the business and lo and behold, they quickly found an interested party!

“A family from Johor contacted us, they were loyal customers of Wizards and were really sad to see us go. Their interest was genuine and they decided to help us continue the brand. So right now, we are just working out the formalities of it, but they are the ones who are going to be spearheading Wizards,” explains Lee.

Moving forward, Lee says he will have less involvement in the day-to-day running of Wizards, but some of the other co-owners will stay on to help the new management continue the brand DNA and legacy.

Still, Lee says what happened to Wizards isn’t at all common in the restaurant industry – especially given the ongoing pandemic – and is what he would characterise as the universe colliding in all sorts of good ways.

“I would say it is a lucky break. We have a good following but I heard about Oriental Cravings (a popular 17-year-old eatery) closing down, and they have a really strong following. So I don’t think even a restaurant with a strong following is safe.

“The pandemic has made us all realise that there are a lot of things you cannot see, which is why some people are calling it a day after 30 years of cooking in the kitchen,” he says.

As the co-owner of two other popular eateries – The Red Beanbag and Yellow Brick Road – both of which he says are hemorrhaging money at this point, Lee knows that sometimes keeping a restaurant going is as difficult as letting it go entirely.

“Personally, I feel some of us, myself included, just don’t want to let the brand die. With brands like Yellow Brick Road and Red Beanbag, we have been bleeding quite a lot, but these are eateries we hold very close to our hearts, so if we have the energy to keep going, we will keep trying until we see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he concludes.

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