Supply & Demand Orchard Gateway forced to cancel reservations due to roof water leak, mall management apologises
An otherwise normal afternoon service turned into chaos for Supply & Demand at Orchard Gateway when water suddenly began pouring from the ceiling, drenching the restaurant mid-shift and forcing staff to cancel dozens of reservations.
The unexpected “indoor rainstorm” was reportedly caused by an accidental activation of the sprinkler system during renovation works on the unit directly above.
Image courtesy of Mr Samdy Kan
Water gushes from ceiling due to renovation accident
Speaking to MS News, restaurant owner Mr Samdy Kan recounted the ordeal that unfolded on 18 June.
At around 3.05pm, a mall representative dropped by to check on any leaks — at that point, there were none.
Just five minutes later, water started gushing from the ceiling of the dining area.
Source: supplydemandorchard on Instagram
Reportedly, construction work at the unit on the floor above had accidentally ruptured the sprinkler system.
Fortunately, the restaurant was about to close for the staff’s lunch break, and only four guests remained at the time.
Even so, Supply & Demand was forced to shut down operations mid-service as water poured down like rain.
65 reservations cancelled & walk-in customers turned away
Mr Kan told MS News that the staff had to quickly relocate the furniture and remove items caught in the “shower”.
Image courtesy of Mr Samdy Kan
The leakage damaged two Point-of-Sale (POS) printers, electrical outlets, books, and waterlogged the wooden benches.
Image courtesy of Mr Samdy Kan
Boxes of dry goods like pasta were soaked through, while cushions and ornaments were ruined.
Image courtesy of Mr Samdy Kan
Furthermore, a power shutdown occurred for a few hours, leaving the restaurant without refrigeration.
Supply & Demand wasn’t sure when they could resume operations and decided to cancel all reservations.
“We had 65 pax of reservations, of which some were a bit disgruntled in tone but generally accepting of the situation,” Mr Kan said.
Based on usual walk-in traffic, he estimated another 80 potential diners were turned away that evening.
The staff spent the entire evening cleaning and sanitising the restaurant, with the mall providing help through their janitors.
Image courtesy of Mr Samdy Kan
Restaurant partially reopens for dinner despite clean-up
However, Mr Kan claimed that the mall management requested the restaurant reopen for dinner service despite having no time to prepare for it.
“We saw people who had dinner plans turning up to the restaurant, and we also felt bad having to turn them down,” he explained.
Speaking to MS News, however, the mall’s management denied having requested Supply & Demand reopen for dinner.
Since part of the dining area remained unaffected, the restaurant reopened partially at around 7.30pm, while ongoing cleaning continued in the background.
The restaurant was somewhat “messy” with ongoing cleaning, and the staff had some minor worries about contamination from the water.
Image courtesy of Mr Samdy Kan
As such, they limited the menu for their evening service.
“We were disappointed to let our diners experience the mess, but at the same time also did not feel comfortable letting down diners who were constantly showing up and getting rejected,” Mr Kan told MS News.
Business resumes, but damages still under discussion
Supply & Demand resumed normal operations the next day on 19 June.
However, Mr Kan noted that intangible losses — like manpower costs, stock losses, and long-term wear and tear — were hard to quantify, whereas customers may just view incidents such as this as “just another mishap”.
“As [an] F&B owner, what we look at is the intangible loss of sales, damage to our furniture, stocks, manpower cost to rectify the situation, etc.”
He also highlighted that the temporary power cut disrupted fridge operations, raising concerns about the freshness of certain produce.
“Running a restaurant is never easy – especially in today’s climate,” the restaurant wrote on Instagram.
Image courtesy of Mr Samdy Kan
Supply & Demand has been in discussion with Orchard Gateway mall management to assess the damages and incurred losses.
Orchard Gateway management apologises for inconvenience
A spokesperson from Savills Property Management Pte Ltd stated that one of their tenants on level three accidentally activated the sprinkler system while performing renovations.
This led to water seepage that affected several tenants on level two, including the Supply & Demand restaurant directly below.
Orchard Gateway management apologised to the affected tenants for the inconvenience caused by the leak.
“Prompt assistance was provided to all affected tenants to clean and restore the affected areas, with most tenants resuming operations later that day,” they stated.
“We remain fully committed to providing ongoing support to all our tenants.”
Also read: Water pipe bursts at Ang Mo Kio Hub, causes ceiling leak in food court
Water pipe bursts at Ang Mo Kio Hub, causes ceiling leak in food court
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Featured image adapted from images courtesy of Mr Samdy Kan.
