Serangoon vegetarian stall closes after owner says his rental more than tripled, he intends to reopen elsewhere

Serangoon vegetarian stall closes after coffee shop changes operator

After more than 10 years, a vegetarian stall in Serangoon has closed down after its elderly owner said his rental had more than tripled.

Shang De Vegetarian, located at 566 Serangoon Road, ended operations on Wednesday (26 Feb), reported Shin Min Daily News.

Source: Google Maps

Serangoon vegetarian stall closes as owner can’t afford S$3,000 rental

76-year-old stallholder Mr Leo told the paper that the coffee shop his stall was in had recently changed operators.

As the premises are slated for renovation, he heard that his monthly rental would rise to about S$3,000.

Source: Google Maps

This is more than three times the S$930 he was paying per month.

Mr Leo said he can’t afford to pay that much as he runs only a small business and just makes enough to live on.

Stallholder gets into dispute with previous operator

The previous operator had instructed Mr Leo to cease operations on 26 Feb and restore the stall to its original state before Friday (28 Feb) so that the premises could be handed over to the new operators on that day.

However, as he and his wife are elderly, they took a longer time to clear their stall and were still doing it late on Friday, he told Shin Min.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

This allegedly drew the ire of the previous operator, who hurried him and even swore at him, he claimed.

The police were called to mediate, with Mr Leo saying that he’d already indicated that he would be done by 6pm as there was only one refrigerator to be picked up, adding:

I don’t know why he is so aggressive.

Stallholder claims previous operator refused to refund rent

Mr Leo also alleged that the previous operator refused to refund him the two days’ rental he was owed as he moved out early.

When the owner of the coffee shop learnt about this, he came down personally and paid him S$62 out of his own pocket, he said.

He also advised him not to be angry.

Previous operator felt disrespected, spoke ‘inappropriately’

When interviewed by Shin Min, the previous operator, who declined to be named, said he’d merely gone to check on the stall as he noticed that it had not been cleared out yet.

However, he was met with a dismissive “none of your business”, making him feel disrespected, he claimed.

He admitted that he had spoken “inappropriately” but that was because he was anxious, he added.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

As for the two days’ rent, he claimed that the coffee shop owner hadn’t refunded him yet so he couldn’t refund the stallholders.

Serangoon vegetarian stall plans to reopen after it closes

On his next move, Mr Leo said he and his wife have no plans to retire despite their old age.

As they’re still strong and young at heart, they will find a place to relocate, perhaps to a government hawker centre.

This was confirmed by Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, who visited the couple at their stall on 25 Feb.

Source: @pritamsingh76 on Instagram

He said the stallholder shared that they planned only “a short rest” of “one or two days” before starting again.

Mr Leo said many customers had visited to bid them farewell on their last day of operations, which touched him.

Mr Singh has been coming regularly since 2022, he added, expressing gratefulness for his support.

Also read: Bukit Timah Fishball Noodles Stall Closing After 45 Years, Owners Cite Rising Costs

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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps.