HDB-themed café Lou Shang at Prinsep St to close on Jul. 14, owner says they lost S$400,000

After a three-year run, HDB-themed café Lou Shang is set to close its doors for good on Jul. 14.

Owner Sebastian Ang announced the upcoming closure via an Instagram video, reflecting on the business's journey and noting that the decision "did not come overnight."

This was "after months of trying to make the numbers work".

Ang is also the founder of local F&B concepts Mama Diam and Synthesis.

Challenges faced

For several months, financial figures indicated that the business was becoming increasingly "hard to maintain," culminating in losses totalling about S$400,000, Ang told Hatch and Hustle.

In the interview, Ang admitted that "stubbornness" and the false hope that they could eventually turn things around were their biggest pitfalls.

Ang shared in his video that the café also faced several other challenges, such as its location.

Lou Shang shares a shophouse space with its sister concept, Mama Diam.

While the ground floor houses Mama Diam, a nostalgic, 1980s provision shop-themed speakeasy, Lou Shang occupies the upper floor.

Its name translates to "upstairs" in Mandarin.

However, this layout meant the café was difficult for passersby to locate.

Furthermore, the lack of an elevator was an accessibility barrier.

Ang also acknowledged flaws in the pricing of its Western-Chinese fusion menu.

"We designed the menu like how we would design a restaurant. This menu wasn't designed for recurring visits.

End of the day I feel that it's the value that customers pay for. If the things are expensive, and you don't see the value in it, most likely people will not come back."

He admitted that while they succeeded in building a "perfect nostalgia" trip, they failed to design a concept that fit into customers' daily routines.

“Every time I see customers coming in for the first time, they all look pleasantly surprised, but admiration doesn't build habits.”

Ang confessed that "things were smooth-sailing" when Mama Diam opened, but realised later that they had expanded too quickly and "internally, things were all over the place".

One last hurrah

Looking back on the journey, Ang expressed gratitude toward his staff and customers for the memories, conversations, and celebrations shared in the space.

“We might have gotten the numbers and business wrong, but all of this, I think they were all real.”

Moving forward, Ang hopes to use the experience to inspire his team to improve and eventually surpass him.

He welcomes both regular patrons and first-time visitors to drop by before the café closes permanently.