Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice Owners Turned Down S$3M Offer To Protect Brand’s Taste & Legacy
Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice is pretty well-known for its special spicy yet smooth curry sauce and crispy, juicy pork cutlet.
Fans may lament, however, that there aren’t more outlets in Singapore — that’s because the owners are careful about opening branches.
In fact, they’re so conscious about protecting their brand that they turned down an offer of S$3 million to buy it over.
Source: Google Maps
Owner receives offers to buy brand & recipe from time to time
Third-generation owner Li Jiabo was asked by Shin Min Daily News whether he’s had any offers to buy the brand and their recipe, since they’re a household name.
The 60-year-old replied that such offers have been made “from time to time” over the years.
One of them was pitched to him by a friend, who said that an interested party was willing to cough up S$3 million for the brand.
However, the owners had no intention to sell.
Wants to protect ancestors’ taste & legacy
Though the offer must have been tempting indeed, Mr Li said the business is the hard work of his family that was passed down through the generations.
Thus, he should protect the taste and legacy of his ancestors.
Source: Eatbook
That’s why he and fourth-generation owner Wu Junwei, 42, both cherish the brand and are cautious about opening new branches.
Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice history dates back to 1930
And what a rich history Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice has — it dates all the way back to 1930.
Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice was founded that year by Mr Lee Ah Hock as a humble food cart parked at Clyde Terrace Market.
The second generation moved the business to a stall, and the subsequent generations have developed the brand further.
Only last year did they open another outlet at ION Orchard’s Hawker Street, bringing their award-winning fare to a mall setting.
This came to fruition because they were invited by Select Group together with other well-known local stalls.
They’ve recently opened a third branch at VivoCity — their first independent outlet in a mall.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
More things to take care of when running standalone outlet
Mr Li told Shin Min that running a stall in a food court and a standalone outlet is very different.
That’s because speciality outlets focus only on their own brand.
Thus, there are more things to take care of, he added.
Keeping it in the family
Singapore’s hawker lore is full of proprietors who sell their businesses for eye-watering sums of money.
Indeed, nobody would begrudge them from wanting to retire comfortably after a lifetime of hard work.
However, it’s uncertain whether the buyers would carry on the legacy of the brand properly.
Thus, it’s comforting to hear that Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice’s owners want to cherish their business by keeping it in the family.
Hopefully, they’ll continue to be a fixture of Singapore’s food scene for decades to come.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and Eatbook.
