Is consolidation the new norm in S’pore’s high-churn F&B scene? Inside the latest openings and closures

SINGAPORE – In recent months, several notable names in the food and beverage (F&B) scene have called it a day. 

Home-grown Chinese restaurant group Crystal Jade has shut five outlets so far in 2026, with 13 remaining, while American chain Cinnabon phased out its final outlet at Ion Orchard on Sept 22. 

Barely a year after opening, Italian sandwich shop Mamma Mia Focaccia and The Champagnery in Amoy Street shut on Sept 23.

Long-time establishments have not been spared, with the recent shutting of Fika and Laurent Cafe & Chocolate Bar, as well as Carnivore Brazilian Churrascaria by end-September.

Others like modern Asian seafood grill One Prawn & Co at New Bahru, Satay by the Bay and Tom’s Palette are expected to bow out in October, while Punggol Container Park’s tenants prepare to vacate by the end of 2026. 

According to data from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, 2,101 F&B businesses ceased operations in the first seven months of 2026 – a 25.1 per cent jump compared with the same period in 2025. In the same period, 2,594 new F&B businesses were registered. 

Calling the sector a “high-churn industry”, Tan Hsien Wei, senior lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Business’ lifestyle and consumer experience domain, points out it is marked by continued consolidation, elevated churn and market rationalisation.

He says: “These figures point to a highly dynamic market, with established businesses exiting or rationalising their operations even as new concepts continue to enter.

“Competition has also intensified as diners have more choices across price points, cuisines and formats. Social media has accelerated the speed at which new dining trends emerge and fade. The result is a market that is testing business models more rigorously.”

High closures may not signal decline

However, a high number of F&B closures should not be seen as evidence that Singapore’s F&B sector is in decline, he says. 

Consolidation, whether through rationalising branch networks or closing under-performing locations, can be a deliberate and strategic move to safeguard a brand’s overall health amid rising labour, rental, utilities and ingredient costs, he adds.

As such, shuffles are afoot for several restaurant groups.

Home-grown Surrey Hills Group has replaced Spanish restaurant MoVida at Raffles City with new dessert bar Maison Yoshoku. Its Surrey Hills Grocer outlet at Ion Orchard shuts on Oct 4, but there are plans to relocate to another spot in Orchard Road. 

Bari Bari Grand at the Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski replaced the En Group of Restaurant’s previous Ka-En Grill & Sushi Bar, a move to create a “more destination dining concept”, says its managing director Raymond Ng. 

Tan says refreshing concepts are needed to remain visible in a digital, data-driven and increasingly AI-enabled world. “Twenty years ago, a restaurant did not have to manage Instagram, TikTok, Google reviews, food delivery platforms and an almost continuous stream of online commentary. Today, a single dining experience can be photographed, reviewed and circulated to thousands of people almost immediately.”

He expects the year ahead to remain competitive, especially with the upcoming opening of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link. 

Despite these market headwinds, new concepts and expansions continue to proliferate here, serving up offerings such as handcrafted pies, Thai-Malay cuisine, Japanese-style desserts and hearty Korean stews. 

Here are 12 noteworthy expansions and new F&B openings to add to your dining radar.

Skosh Hand Roll & Matcha Bar

Where: B1-K1 Scotts Square, 6 Scotts Road, open: 10am to 9pm daily 
Info: www.skosh.sg 

Pair hand rolls and matcha at Skosh Hand Roll & Matcha Bar, the two-month-old sister outlet to the Japanese cafe of the same name at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA).

While the NAFA outlet is better known for its onigiri and sandos, it introduced hand rolls in May, which took off and gave rise to its 20-seat Scotts Square branch – a full showcase of made-to-order seafood and wagyu hand rolls, and an expanded matcha menu. 

What stands out is the attention to layering textures and flavours. Salted egg tempura bits and ponzu pearls elevate its Snow Crab roll; while the kimchi slaw, chilli flakes and crunchy almonds complement its Torched Octopus. 

Signatures remain on the menu, such as Samsui Scallion Chicken ($4.50), a reinterpretation of the classic Hainanese chicken rice topped with a housemade scallion sauce, chilli sauce and garlic chips. 

Prices start at $4.50 for a hand roll, but your best bet is a set of three or five from $12.80 to $18.80. For the best of everything, a tasting set of five is priced at $32.80. 

For drinks, try the outlet-exclusive Miso Brown Sugar Matcha ($9), made with housemade miso cream, miso-infused matcha and Japanese brown sugar; or the Kinako Matcha ($9), featuring housemade kinako paste, a cloud-like kinako foam, matcha and Japanese brown sugar.

Bari Bari Grand

Where: 01-82 Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski, 15 Stamford Road, open: 11am to 10pm daily
Info: baribaristeak.com.sg 

One of the recent additions to the Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski is Bari Bari Grand, an elevated sister concept to the Bari Bari Steak chain by the home-grown En Group. 

Known for its affordable steaks and free-flow salad bar, Bari Bari Steak, which launched in Singapore in December 2025, has expanded to six outlets in under a year. 

Bari Bari Grand replaces the group’s Ka-En Grill & Sushi Bar. 

While it also operates as a Japanese steakhouse with a free-flow gourmet bar including sides and desserts, Bari Bari Grand offers a wider selection of Miyazakigyu steak cuts (from $68 for 150g) such as zabuton, ribeye round, rib cap and striploin. The prized beef is considered a higher-grade classification of Miyazaki wagyu. 

There are also more seafood options such as lobster and scallops. Or you can shell out for a seafood platter ($288, pre-order three days in advance, good for four to six people) with king crab and Japanese oysters. 

Or kick back at Bari Bari Social, an al fresco social space that offers light bites and happy hour deals such as $3 Japanese oysters and house wine at $7 a glass. 

Bari Bari Grand is a stone’s throw from Dough cafe, which relocated from Chijmes. Closures at the mall in July include Chinese restaurant Famous Treasure and dessert cafe Error 404. 

IM QALB by Pun Im

Where: 04-02 Tampines Mall, 4 Tampines Central 5, open: 11am to 9.30pm daily 
Info: www.imqalbsg.com 

Opened on Sept 2, the 90-seat IM QALB by Pun Im is a new Thai-Malay concept by Vincent Pang, 40, founder of the home-grown Pun Im Group. 

Pang, who is also behind Pun Im Private Dining and casual Thai restaurant IM JAI by Pun Im at Icon Village, says his new concept stems from the shared culinary and cultural history between southern Thailand and the Malay Peninsula. 

Its menu features seven outlet-exclusive dishes such as Golden Crab Tahu Kai Jeow ($18.80), a marriage of Malay tahu telur with a Thai-style cha-om crab omelette, served with two housemade sauces. 

There is also Stir-Fried Petai with Wild-Caught Black Tiger Prawns ($19.80), a southern Thai classic with roots in Malay and Indonesian tradition; and Spicy & Sour Beef Soup (Tom Saap, $16.80), hailing from Issan, north-eastern Thailand. 

There are also three signature beverages ($7.80 each) of Thai chendol drink with scented coconut milk, rose milk tea with cream cheese foam and rose tea with lychee smoothie.  

The Muslim-friendly restaurant is working towards getting halal certification. 

Gamja

Where: 21 Boon Tat Street, open: 11am to 3pm, 5.30pm to 11pm daily
Info: @gamja_sg on Instagram

Move over samgyetang. A new Korean stew is in town. 

Gamja, which opened on Sept 3, specialises in gamjatang, a slow-simmered rich pork bone and potato stew seasoned with perilla seed powder and chilli.

Gamja means potato in Korean.

For lunch, prices start at $15.80 – suitable for solo diners – with options of traditional, non-spicy, aged kimchi and perilla seed. 

For dinner, gamjatang is served in bigger portions for sharing, priced from $53. 

Sides include chive and kimchi jeon (Korean savoury pancakes, $12.80 each), rolled omelette ($14.80) and Gamja’s Signature Potato Salad ($10) topped with shaved cheese.

Down it all with soju by the shot ($10), alongside beer, makgeolli and other flavoured soju by the bottle or glass. 

Gamja’s South Korean founders are Shin Jae-yun, a Singapore-based entrepreneur, and Nam Wan-hyuk, who runs five dining concepts in South Korea, including Mister Gyoza and barbecue restaurant Andong Silbi. 

Elijah Pies

Where: 72 Joo Chiat Place, open: 10am to 8pm daily; 8am to 6pm daily from Oct 1
Info: elijahpies.com.sg 

What started as a home-based bakery in 2014 has launched its most ambitious venture to date. 

On Sept 12, co-founder couple Elijah Tan and and Wong Limin opened the 60-seat Elijah Pies flagship in a heritage shophouse in Joo Chiat. They have another cafe in Tanjong Pagar and a central kitchen in King George’s Avenue. 

No effort has been spared in stamping their identity on this new space – from the shophouse facade painted in the brand’s saturated navy blue, to the vegetable-tanned leather on the chairs mirroring the pastry lattice pattern, to the 1,480 hand-carved Italian travertine tiles on the floor. 

The outlet-exclusive showstopper is Elijah’s Souffle Pie ($18), with a warm gianduja centre over almond joconde and hazelnut praline, finished with a chocolate flower inspired by Peranakan tilework. 

Another new item is the Kaya Toffee Pie ($9), with housemade pandan coconut jam over a hidden seam of golden brown gula melaka toffee. 

Leading the new menu are four pizza pies with a crisp croissant-style crust made from 27 alternating layers of French butter and flour. Flavours include Ruffles ($23), inspired by the popular sour cream and onion potato chip flavour; and Garlic Ebi ($22), with a tiger prawn bisque, garlic confit and sakura ebi powder. 

Pair the pies with new drinks, such as 1930 – a nod to the year the shophouse was built – with cold-infused pandan coconut water, butterfly pea and cloud foam, finished with clarified hazelnut milk ($13).

Another standout is Rolly Lolly ($13), clarified mango juice and grapefruit oleo saccharum topped with a housemade orange blossom lollipop.

Pets are not forgotten. They get their own “pup pies” ($9), as well as free dog cookies from pet bakery Petissier.

Marymount Bakehouse

Where: 9 Thomson Ridge, open: 9am to 7.30pm (Wednesdays to Fridays), 9am to 6pm (weekends), closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
Info: www.marymountbakehousesg.com 

It is a homecoming for Marymount Bakehouse, the former home-based venture which launched its first physical store in Sin Ming in 2023. 

A year later, founder-baker Ian Ferdinand Chong opened the brand’s first cafe concept in Race Course Road. On Sept 12, he launched his second outlet in Upper Thomson, with a larger dining area, pet-friendly outdoor seating and a wider menu. 

Sourdough loaves remain the foundation of Marymount Bakehouse, along with new levain pies such as 4 Cheese Asparagus (from $18.90), a combination of Philadelphia cream cheese, Gorgonzola, stracciatella and Parmesan with an asparagus nest and coppa Scotch egg; and Corn & Crab Chowder Pie (from $20.50), layered with sweet crab meat, crab tartare quenelle, smoky bell pepper puree and burnt corn. 

Other highlights include Parma & Burratina ($27), with confit cherry tomatoes, pickled green tomatillo, compressed watermelon and housemade sourdough croutons served with a refreshing gazpacho of ripe tomatoes, red peppers and watermelon; and Beef Tartare on Bone Marrow ($30), featuring tare-glazed bone marrow topped with hand-cut beef tartare and served with sourdough bread crisps, sourdough shokupan, potato chips and arugula salad.

Showcasing the endless possibilities of sourdough, Chong’s menu also features Sourdough Gnocchi with Swedish Meatballs ($30), served with lingonberry and port wine, dill, herb oil and truffle creme fraiche.

Its classics remain, such as the Apple Rhubarb Pie (from $16.90), Shepherd’s Pie (from $18.90) and signature loaves (from $15). 

Shared Table

Where: Ang Mo Kio-Bishan Park, 1382 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, open: 11.30am to 10pm (Wednesdays to Mondays), closed on Tuesdays
Info: @sharedtableworld on Instagram 

For a leafy meal in the park, head to Shared Table, which opened on Sept 14 at Ang Mo Kio-Bishan Park. 

It is the latest venture of Jerls Su, the entrepreneur behind Average Service cafe, in collaboration with Jazreel Low, former actress and spa director of the adjacent Aramsa – The Garden Spa. 

The duo connected via a mutual friend, who introduced Low, a frequent diner at Average Service, to Su. Both shared the same idea of opening an F&B destination offering “feel-good food in a parkside setting”, says Su. 

The menu takes inspiration from the Japanese principle of Ichiju-sansai, meaning one soup, three dishes. 

Diners can choose one grain, one protein, two sides and a soup of the day for their Nourish Plate (from $21.90). 

Grain options include lemon herbed rice, cous cous with furikake and kombu, or cold buckwheat soba. 

For proteins, offerings include ginger sesame oil chicken thigh, honey-glazed goji smoked duck and oven-baked miso salmon. Vegetarians can opt for the gong bao lion’s mane mushroom or gong bao tempeh with cashews. 

Each item is also available as an a la carte dish. 

Add on other small plates, such as grilled chicken skewers with tzatziki and pita ($14.90) and protein pancake with caramelised banana, gula melaka and peanut butter sauce ($17.90).

Sip on coffee (from $6.50), roasted by Brawn and Brains, artisanal matcha (from $6.50) and herbal tea (from $7) from Tily Tea Singapore. The tea is also sold at its retail corner, alongside crunchy oats from Qrunchi. 

In the pipeline are a Children’s Day celebration on Oct 2, as well as festive menus. 

Tanica

Where: The Singapore Edition, 38 Cuscaden Road, open: 6.30am to 10.30am (breakfast), noon to 2.30pm (lunch), 6pm to 10pm (Mondays to Thursdays), 6pm to 10.30pm (Fridays to Sundays)
Info: www.tanicasingapore.com

After acclaimed Australian chef Josh Niland ended his consultancy partnership with The Singapore Edition hotel on Dec 31, 2025, a new concept has replaced his seafood-centric restaurant Fysh. 

Launched on Sept 17, the modern Asian restaurant is called Tanica – a portmanteau of the words “botanical” and “tannins” and a nod to the surrounding lush greenery.

It is helmed by the hotel’s Malaysian executive chef Mandy Goh, 38, who made culinary history at age 22 when she and her all-female team from Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur won gold at the prestigious Bocuse d’Or Asia competition in 2010. 

She has worked across the likes of the now-defunct Guy Savoy at Marina Bay Sands, The St Regis Langkawi and, most recently, The Ruma Hotel and Residences’ Atas restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. 

While Tanica’s menu continues to be seafood-focused, flavours are punchier with the use of more regional herbs and spices. 

Highlights in the menu include Charcoal Grilled Indonesian Squid ($28), with pickled watermelon rind, sawtooth coriander and torch ginger dressing; Black Sambal Murray Cod ($58); and Assam Pedas Seafood Risotto ($58), reimagined in a sour and spicy broth, finished with sweet prawn, sea grapes and winged beans. 

Another standout is the Iga Bakar Kicap ($58), which features a slow-grilled 72-hour wagyu beef short rib served with sambal embe (a Balinese-style sambal) and fresh herb salad. 

Finish with desserts, including Fragrant Pandan ($16), with a pandan roll and refreshing soursop and kaffir lime sorbet; or Kuantan Chocolate & Pisang Emas ($20), a 70 per cent dark chocolate mousse with a gula melaka banana compote centre.

Familiar crowd-pleasers such as laksa ($28), char kway teow ($28) and Hainanese chicken rice ($28) are on the menu as well. 

For the best value, go for the three-course set lunch (noon to 2.30pm, weekdays only) at $48 a person or weekly Sunday brunch (noon to 3pm) from $98 a person. 

Maison Yoshoku

Where: 03-43 Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road, open: 11.30am to 10pm daily
Info: @maisonyoshoku on Instagram 

Opened on Sept 23, the new Maison Yoshoku is the latest Japanese-Western concept by the home-grown Surrey Hills Group. 

Its main draw is its floating dessert omakase bar, where desserts are served suspended in mid-air using magnets. 

It is available from 3pm to 10pm daily, priced from $25 for a three-course dessert experience. Desserts include Natsukashii, which pairs roasted soya bean powder and brown sugar syrup with peanut cream cheese mousse, white chocolate and a buttery kuromitsu-infused sable. 

For a more savoury number, Fukami features a truffle semifreddo in a charcoal tart shell, finished with black garlic gel and crystallised cocoa nibs.

Sweets aside, the restaurant offers Hitsumabushi lunch sets (from $28, weekdays only) and yoshoku dishes and izakaya-inspired plates for dinner (6pm to 10pm daily). 

Lunch options include Sansho Unagi Kayabaki and Farm Seabass Meuniere, while dinner plates include Grilled Half Spring Chicken ($35) and a Japanese-influenced Maison Yoshoku Bouillabaisse ($34). 

Maison Yoshoku sits in the same cluster as the group’s eponymous cafe brand, ramen restaurant Mensho Tokyo and high-end hotpot restaurant Bon Broth. It takes over the space previously occupied by Spanish restaurant MoVida, which the group is looking to bring back to Singapore after its closure here in May.

It is also looking to relocate its Surrey Hills Grocer cafe at Ion Orchard, which shuts on Oct 4, to another Orchard Road location.

Aro 

Where: 15 Mohamed Sultan Road, open: 6pm to 10pm (Thursdays to Mondays), noon to 3pm (Fridays to Mondays), closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Info: Call 6290-6195 or go to arosingapore.com 

The wait is over for Filipino-Chinese chef Johanne Siy’s highly anticipated return to Singapore’s dining scene. 

The 26-seat Aro restaurant opened on Sept 25 in Mohamed Sultan Road, adding to the area’s restaurant cluster including Mediterranean-Japanese restaurant Noor, as well as two-Michelin-starred establishments Thevar and Meta. 

Aro’s cuisine is not anchored to a particular nationality, cuisine or geography. Instead, it is a culmination of her culinary journey, while shining the spotlight on various ingredients and producers.

A Chef’s Tasting Menu ($268++ a person) for dinner is available for now. 

It showcases her evolved signature Avocado dish, a nod to her previous chapter at the now-defunct Lolla restaurant, which features avocado, smoked fish and cucumber in a dressing of yuzu, coconut and dashi, finished tableside with jalapeno granita. 

Other highlights include the Pili Nut, Egg Yolk, Oscietra Caviar, where a pili nut milk custard is layered with raw pili nuts, jamon slivers, crispy fried capers and topped with an egg yolk sauce. 

Her Seaweed dish offers five varieties of seaweed – wakame, aonori, sea lettuce, hijiki and gamet – dressed simply in a kombu sauce, butter poached Gillardeau oysters and seaweed espuma. 

A shorter menu of $98 or $138 for lunch (from Fridays to Mondays) will be launched on Oct 1.

Bomul Samgyetang

Where: B1-08/09 Scotts Square, 6 Scotts Road, open: 11am to 10pm daily 
Info: bomul.com.sg 

While Bomul Samgyetang’s core menu of Korean ginseng and organic chicken soup (from $29) remains, this second outlet at Scotts Square offers an expanded menu of new dishes. 

Styled like a Korean house, the 3,000 sq ft restaurant, opened on Sept 25, can seat 80 diners. 

A new addition is a North Korean-style Organic Samgye Baekban ($29.90), a dish of tender chicken served with slow-cooked Uiseong six-clove garlic, gomtang-style broth, aromatic Suhyangmi rice and housemade ginger scallion sauce and Hanbang sauce infused with Korean herbs, ginger, jujube and pear.

The menu also features freshly made noodles such as Abalone Perilla Bibim Noodles ($26), Nourishing Abalone Kalguksu ($26) and Spicy Cure Konjac Noodles ($22), which swops traditional noodles for zero-calorie konjac noodles.

For bigger groups, plump for the Spicy Samgyetang Double Big Pot ($89.90 for two to three people), which includes a whole chicken, octopus and abalone.  

Fico 

Where: Tanjong Beach Club, 120 Tanjong Beach Walk, opens on Sept 28: noon to 8pm (Mondays to Thursdays), noon to 10pm (Fridays to Sundays); from Oct 12: 4pm to 10pm (weekdays), noon to 10pm (weekends) 
Info: Call 9750-5323 or go to www.tanjongbeachclub.com/ficomasseria 

The breezy coastal vibes of Italian restaurant Fico continue, now at its second home in Tanjong Beach Club. 

Familiar favourites of hand-made pasta sit alongside new dishes at this 130-seat outlet, which includes the exclusive Pesto and Mortadella Focaccina ($25), Fico’s well-loved combo of focaccia and pizza. 

Several seafood and meat items get cooked in the venue’s 2m-tall charcoal-fired barbecue dome, such as the Catch of the Day ($42), Grilled Spring Chicken Thigh ($39) and Seafood Platter (from $108), with a spread of squid, scallops, octopus, prawns and lobster. 

The cosy, relaxed design of the East Coast Park flagship carries into this space, with the use of natural materials and earthy tones from the 66-seat dining room to the open-air 44-seat poolside terrace and 20-seat patio.

The restaurant is already revving up for the upcoming Formula 1 season from Oct 8 to 11, including a Long Lunch on Oct 8 and 9, as well as a Champagne Brunch by the sea on Oct 10.