East Ocean Teochew Restaurant to close after 33 years of operation

SINGAPORE: The popular East Ocean Teochew Restaurant, renowned for its Teochew-Cantonese cuisine and dim sum, will close its doors on 28 December after 33 years of operation.

The eatery first opened in 1992 at Shaw Centre on Scotts Road, where it operated for 20 years before relocating in 2012 to its current location at Ngee Ann City.

In a statement posted on its website on 1 December, the restaurant’s management cited the lack of successors as the main reason for the closure.

The restaurant expressed gratitude for customers’ support over the past 33 years, which allowed it to continually serve traditional cuisine, handcrafted dim sum, and festive specialities such as mooncakes, dumplings, and Chinese New Year cakes.

“However, all good things must come to an end. As our shareholders and management have advanced in age, and with no successors to take over, we have decided to officially cease operations on 28 December this year," the statement added.

The management also announced plans to offer special promotions on its menu and Chinese New Year festive cakes as a token of appreciation for customers’ support over the years.

“We would like to take this opportunity to once again express our heartfelt gratitude for your kind support and generosity,” it concluded.

Record Number of F&B Closures in 2024

The closure of East Ocean Teochew Restaurant comes amid a challenging period for Singapore’s food and beverage (F&B) sector. In 2024, over 3,000 F&B establishments shut down, marking the highest number of closures in almost two decades since 2005.

A Reuters report in April noted that closures averaged 307 per month from January to April 2025, up from 254 per month in 2024 and around 230 per month in both 2023 and 2022.

Several well-known outlets were among those forced to close.

In July, Japanese-style cake shop Flor Patisserie shut its Siglap Drive outlet after 15 years, citing a drastic rent hike by the landlord as the reason.

In the same month, Burp Kitchen & Bar announced the closure of its Bishan Park outlet, stating that the current F&B environment had proven too challenging.

In August, OK Chicken Rice and Humfull Laksa closed their Punggol outlets despite generating about S$1,000 in daily sales, highlighting the pressures of rising costs and operational challenges.

These closures reflect the ongoing difficulties faced by F&B operators in Singapore, where high rental costs and a competitive market continue to take a toll on businesses, even those with loyal customer bases.