Singaporean actor and F&B entrepreneur Ben Yeo is shutting down the high-end modern Chinese restaurant he founded, Tan Xiang Yuan, after two years.
The 46-year-old Mediacorp artiste had incurred more than $1mil (RM3.3mil) in losses from the venture.
Yeo told Chinese-language news outlet Lianhe Zaobao in an interview on Jan 3: “In business, you either make a profit or you’ve failed. From a business perspective, anything that doesn’t make money, you have to know when to stop the bleeding. Shutting down is how we’re stopping the bleeding.”
The restaurant, which opened in November 2022, is in a two-storey conservation house in Dickson Road. It was founded by Yeo, celebrity chef Cao Yong and other business partners, and it offers dishes like seafood steamboat and Peking duck.
Yeo owns several other F&B establishments, like zi char hawker stall Charcoal Fish Head Steamboat Restaurant in Kallang and a wet market-themed kopitiam Tan Xiang Chai Chee in Chai Chee Lane.
He said his biggest mistake in running Tan Xiang Yuan was spending some $800,000 (RM2.6mil) on renovations, which made it difficult for the restaurant to turn a profit.
The actor, who has starred in Channel 8 series like Mind Matters (2018) and Your World In Mine (2022), said he did not anticipate renovation costs to be so high.
“Because the restaurant is housed in an old, conserved building, there were a lot of regulations to adhere to. Some of our renovations were not approved, so we had to redo them.
“It cost us a lot of money, and a lot of the expenditure was unexpected. But we had already started on the renovations at that point, so we couldn’t just stop,” he said.
He added that he felt bad for the restaurant’s employees.
“The restaurant’s day-to-day way of working is quite different from the fish head steamboat zi char stall. I’m trying to find vacancies for them in other F&B establishments.
“They told me not to stress out about it and said they can look for jobs on their own. I feel sad about having to let them go.”
Tan Xiang Yuan’s last day of operations will be Feb 12, the final day of the traditional 15-day Lunar New Year celebrations.
Yeo said he had originally planned to shutter the restaurant on Dec 31, but the restaurant had introduced its Lunar New Year menu in November and it is nearly full for the festive period.
“We’ve been given a lot of support by our patrons, so we shall celebrate our last festive season in Tan Xiang Yuan with them,” he said.
Following news of the closure, Yeo posted a photo of himself standing in front of the restaurant.
He thanked everyone for their concern and hoped people will continue to support his other F&B ventures. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
