When a coffee shop located at Block 261 Serangoon Central Drive was sold for a whopping S$40.5 million in December 2023, residents in its vicinity were worried that the price of its offerings would skyrocket.

But those fears are partly unfounded as eight of the 16 stalls at the coffee shop, which re-opened in June 2024 under its new operator, Broadway Group, are offering budget meals, reported Shin Min Daily News.

These meals include S$3 pasta, S$3.50 economy rice comprising two vegetables and one meat, and S$1.20 hot Kopi-O and Teh-O.

According to a patron of the coffee shop, the meals did not come in smaller portions, even though they are priced lower.

Chicken rice stall S$3.50 meals despite 30% rent increase

Shin Min reported that in general, stall owners at the coffee shop pay a rental of more than S$10,000 per month.

Despite the cost, one stall Yishun 925 Hainanese chicken rice, still decided to offer budget meals.

It sells rice with chicken breast meat at S$3.50.

The stall owner, surnamed Xu (transliteration), told the Chinese daily that his rent had increased by approximately 30 per cent, but he decided to continue operating at the coffee shop and not increase the price of his offerings.

One reason was that the stall had been operating in the coffee shop for around seven years and had garnered a regular customer base that was "hard to give up".

"After considering the overall environment and the large number of returning customers, I decided to give it a try and continue operating at the coffee shop," said Xu.

He also added that while the profit was small, he would try to sustain his business by selling by volume as much as possible, as the price of ingredients would not increase in the short run.

Economy rice stall has budget meals 'since opening'

The budget meals appeared to be less of a concern for newer stalls at the coffee shop, according to Shin Min.

For example, a manager of the economy rice stall, surnamed Wang (transliteration), said the stall has been offering budget meals ever since it opened.

While the stall's budget meals are S$0.30 cheaper than its regular offerings, Wang said the portions are the same.

"For every 10 customers, seven of them are elderly. By the end of the day, we would sell around 20 plates of budget meals," shared Wang.

Mala stall 'not really affected' by offering budget meals

Similarly, another stall that was not affected significantly by offering budget meals is JEM Mala Xiang Guo, which sells nasi lemak with luncheon meat and egg for S$3.50, reported Shin Min.

According to the stall owner, surnamed Deng (transliteration), it is important for food and beverage stalls in neighbourhood food places to ensure the affordability of their offerings.

Deng added his stall also wanted to respond to the government's call by providing affordable food options for low-income residents.

However, as his stall usually sells only around 10 budget meals per day, and the meal is only one of the 40 offerings at his stall, Deng said offering budget meals “has little effect" on his business.

Statement from Broadway Group

In response to Shin Min's queries, a Broadway Group spokesperson said offering budget meals at the Serangoon coffee shop has been "part of the group's earlier plans", as it is a spot frequently patronised by residents nearby.

The spokesperson added that the coffee shop is also one of Broadway's 22 coffee shops that offer budget meals.

"We will work closely with stall operators to ensure the budget meal options they offer fall within the budget of S$3.50 without changes in portion," the statement read.

Broadway is one of the nine private coffee shop chain operators that will start offering budget meals at their coffee shops by the end of July 2024 under the budget meal initiative, which aims to provide Singaporeans with more affordable food options, according to The Straits Times.

Coffee shops participating in the initiative would also start accepting CDC vouchers progressively from Jul. 1, ST reported the Ministry of National Development and Housing Board as saying.

Top images via Shin Min Daily News & Google Maps