Flourish Bakehouse cafe owner explains why F&B business on SMU campus closed in Sep. 2025

Flourish Bakehouse at the Singapore Management University (SMU) campus shut down on Sep. 14, 2025.

Its stint at the university lasted almost two years.

It was previously operating at Phoenix Park before moving to the campus grounds in town in October 2023.

Owner's point-of-view

Diane Ong, 33, owner of the now-closed cafe, spoke to Mothership about her experience operating a food and beverage business out of SMU, what inspired her to start it in the first place, and what led to the difficult decision to close it down.

1. Why and when did you decide to start Flourish?

Cooking and baking has always been a huge passion of mine even when I was working in a corporate job.

On top of that, since my parents were both entrepreneurs, starting my own business was always on the table.

I decided to give it a shot and started Flourish Bakehouse in October 2021.

2. What was the F&B industry like when you started this cafe?

We started Flourish in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was surprisingly a really good time for our local F&B scene because most customers were locked in the country and seeking out different experiences and places to visit.

3. What were some of the challenges you faced as a business owner in these four years that you ran Flourish? How did you overcome them?

The two biggest challenges that I think most F&B owners resonate with the most are rent and manpower.

However, I think beyond that, it is the reality that it is ultimately a landlord’s market.

We are unfortunately bound not just by rent, but by restrictions imposed by our respective landlords.

This can be pivotal in changing how viable a business model can be.

4. How well was Flourish doing over four years?

It has definitely been a really challenging time and more so in the past two years.

We have seen a general drop in customer spending since global travel resumed and the overall cost of living increasing.

Unfortunately, we have also had a lot of restrictions imposed since moving to SMU, which made it really difficult for us to mirror a similar vibe to our previous location.

With all that being said, we are so thankful for our regulars and new friends who have joined our community who allowed us to keep operating these past few years.

5. Why did you decide to close the cafe?

The biggest factor that made me decide to close Flourish was a miscarriage that my husband and I went through in 2024.

It definitely made me reconsider whether doing F&B was the most physically wise work to be doing during this season of life as we look to start a family.

It definitely was not an easy decision, but prioritising health and family will always be of paramount importance to me.

6. You mentioned in an Instagram post that more people had to be hired during the lead-up to the closure?

The increase in manpower was not so much that we had to hire more people on top of our existing staff.

But rather, it was because we were waiting for months for our landlord to make a decision that would affect our last date of operations.

We had staff that were committed to working until that initial earlier date in end-July and could not work beyond then due to various commitments.

On a net basis, there was no difference in total headcount.

7. Do you know of others in the F&B industry that are hanging up their aprons?

I do not know of any personally, but there are lots of beloved local brand names like Ka-Soh and Fluff bakery that have been on the news recently.

8. Do you know of any small F&B business owners expanding their business?

No one we know is aggressively expanding their business at the moment, but we do know that our friends at Mr Bucket are opening new stores soon.

9. Would you return to the F&B industry in future?

Not shutting out the possibility of returning in the future, but not in the near future.

Top photos via Google Maps & Mothership