Orange & Teal closing down after more than four years of operations
Orange & Teal, the café started by local opposition politician Chee Soon Juan, is closing down after more than four years in business.
The closure announcement was posted on its Facebook page early on Tuesday (11 Nov) morning.
Orange & Teal closing on an unspecified date
The message said that Orange & Teal would “conclude our journey”, but did not specify an exact closing date.
The chapter has come to a close with “gratitude and optimism”, with the management professing to be “happy” to have started the café.
Source: Orange & Teal on Facebook
They were also happy to conclude it on their own terms, saying:
Its spirit of courage, warmth, and connection will live on.
Orange & Teal holding ‘cash & carry’ sale before closing
The message also hinted that Orange & Teal might return someday, saying it was “not goodbye”, but “until next time”, adding:
We look forward to picking up where we left off on another day.
The café will be holding a “cash & carry” sale from Tuesday to Thursday (11-13 Nov).
Customers who would like a memento of the café by purchasing a piece of its decor may do so from 11am to 7pm over these three days.
Orange & Teal opened to large crowds in 2021
Orange & Teal opened at Rochester Mall in Buona Vista on 25 June 2021, a surprising venture from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief.
Dr Chee said it was a “long-term dream” for him and his wife, who envisioned it as a place for Singaporeans to come together for a meal and “intelligent discussion, even impassioned debate”.
He even had the slogan “Where the conversation’s even better” engraved over the doorway, and packed the premises with books, including his own.
Source: Young Democrats on Facebook
Customers flocked to the café on opening day, with some menu items reportedly sold out by lunchtime.
Chee Soon Juan shared struggles of F&B business
Over the coming months and years, Dr Chee shared the struggles of running an F&B business, from high rental costs to difficulty hiring manpower and “back-breaking” physical labour.
He also found it a good way to help out the less privileged by treating cardboard collectors from Chinatown and migrant workers to meals.
After a year, he celebrated its anniversary by introducing a new menu, stepping up its gastronomic game significantly.
Unsurprisingly, the café was visited by well-known opposition politicians, with Workers’ Party Chairman Sylvia Lim and her partner, and Progress Singapore Party Chairman Tan Cheng Bock, among those who ate there.
Source: Chee Soon Juan on Facebook
In August 2022, he expanded by opening Orange & Teal’s second outlet in Marina Square.
Marina Square café closed in 2024
However, the Marina Square café closed in October 2024 after more than two years, with “rising costs” cited as a reason.
This left the original Rochester Mall outlet as the only one standing.
MS News has reached out to Orange & Teal for more information about the closure.
Also read: Chee Soon Juan raising funds to contest in Bukit Batok with S$100 dinners at Orange & Teal
Chee Soon Juan raising funds to contest in Bukit Batok with S$100 dinners at Orange & Teal
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Featured image adapted from Chee Soon Juan on Facebook and MS News.
