Yes. I know who the owner is. Harry Ramsden Fish and Chips is a proven product. Its one of the situation where product owners themselves have no interest in franchising but someone else is keen. So he was pretty much on his own.
Nobody takes home baked oysters and it does not rank among the popular items. The waitresses were middle aged, Ah Soh like and clueless for a British food restaurant. The killer was the price differential. Common sense would have told him that he needs to package it differently so a direct comparison can't be made.
Though he had an excellent location with ample parking, I suspect that he went overboard in keeping costs down. Even before the doors opened he was asking for discounts, concession etc.
Rent was never an issue. It remained vacant for very long time.
I am pretty sure, its will get customers real quick if it returns.
in the f&b business in sg, the main requirement is simply real good food. i used to patronise a russian steak house over at far east centre frequently until i was forced to watch my diet by wifey.
the restaurant was nothing special, the decor seemed to be "stuck in the 70s" coffee house style, the aunties and uncles who were serving werent very helpful to say the least. but the food was damn good. not exactly cheap but very good value for money. thus, if u go there without a prior reservation, chances r you might have to wait for a long time, if u r lucky.
location would and should never be a factor. singaporeans would drive to the ends of the world for a good meal. thus, landlords would never be able to be a threat to such businesses. maybe only a temporary one due to the moving of premises and such. only substandard restaurants need to open in shopping malls, if u think about it.
the food business is a funny business. most of the time, those who succeed r those who r very adamant about the food they prepare for customers. it is with the outdated (but apt) motto that, "if u take care of your customers, your customers will take care of u".
food, especially good food, r and should never meant to be franchised. cos the basis of good food, more often than not, is about fresh ingredients. take a look at the food franchises in sg and u will see that most of their menu is about fried food... why is that so??? to mask the low quality of their ingredients. especially seafood. fish and co??? why would people pay good money to have lousy food??? i usually only see young teenagers there, and i can understand. they usually dont really know how to appreciate whether their food is fresh, cos their tastebuds r all destroyed from having too much macdonalds.
the last time i ate there, quality has ddroped. lots of crumbs and small pieces of fish!
