Founder BKT Owner Responds to Criticisms of Their Plea for Help, Says It ‘Saddens’ Him

Whenever Jay Chou comes to Singapore, he’d do many things, and one of which is to head down to Founder Bak Kut Teh in Balestier Road to have piping hot bak kut teh while taking an image with the founder:

Whether you know Founder Bak Kut Teh through Jay Chou or you’re one who cannot resist bak kut teh even when you’re on a Stay-Home Notice, you’d know that the chain has made an online plea yesterday:

The owner of Founder Bak Kut Teh, Nigel Chua, took to the business’s various social media accounts to air their difficulties.

Over the past five months, he said that Founder Bak Kut Teh has experienced an 85% drop in revenue.

If the situation doesn’t get better “in the next 2 months”, Founder Bak Kut Teh might be shutting down.

Highlighting that they have been operating for 42 years, he said that there’s a possibility that they “might not make it for the many more 42 years to come”.

In a last attempt to save their brand, Founder Bak Kut Teh will be giving “over 30%-off curated sets” for customers dining-in from 17 Jul to 17 Aug 2020.

It’s also a way for the brand to thank customers for their support throughout these years, he added.

He ended off his post with a sincere plea for help from members of the public, not through donations or charity, but to come in and let them serve you with their food and have a great time.

If you’re one who doesn’t read comments, you might just call your friends down to support a dying business so that Jay Chou won’t need to eat in McDonald’s when he’s here.

But I bet you’re one who just read comments, and you’d have come across countless comments like these:

While we’re all dying to know what cars and watches the owners have, it seems like the plea might’ve worked.

People Streaming in After Online Plea

Reporters from Shinmin headed down to the outlet at Hotel Boss but didn’t see Jay Chou coming with stacks of million-dollar notes to save the business.

Reader Bao: He can’t even save his own—

Shut up, we’ve many Jay Chou fans here.

Instead, they spotted people supporting the business: in 1.5 hour, there were about 19 people heading to the outlet in the morning.

They managed to interview one customer who’s brought three friends along. It was the first time he had a meal in the eatery and felt that it’s a waste for a 42-year-old brand to fold.

That dude must’ve been to many places in the last few months, and must have missed out Sportslink.

Shinmin also got to speak to Nigel, the second-generation owner of the chain. He said that he would try to save as many outlets as possible, adding, “I’ve helped my father for over twenty years in this business, and we started it from scratch. My father said that we should persist and save as many outlets as possible; if not, we should close down each outlet one by one.”

Of course he’s read the negative comments online, so what’s his response?

“Some people claimed that we live in a big house and drive big cars. But what they’re seeing is just the surface; we earned them with hard work. Whoever is in the F&B industry will know about the long working hours and how tough it is. Those comments sadden me.”

Have 4 Outlets in Singapore Now

If you’re thinking of supporting them now and have just booked a GrabCar to Jurong Point, cancel that ride now.

The chain now has four remaining outlets, and please cry hard if you live in the west:

• Jay Chou outlet at Balestier (347 Balestier Road, Singapore 329777
• Hotel Boss Outlet (500 Jalan Sultan #01-09, Singapore 199020)
• Bugis Outlet (530 North Bridge Road, #01-01, Singapore 18874)
• Downtown East Outlet (Market Square @ Downtown East E!Avenue, #01-310, 1 Pasir Ris Close Singapore 519599)

Do note that the promotions are only valid for the Hotel Boss, Bugis and Downtown East outlets.

According to its website, it has outlets in China, Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam, too, though it’s unknown if they are franchises.

Despite its name, Founder Bak Kut Teh isn’t the founder of bak kut teh—it’s just a name of the eatery. Established since 1978 as a stall, it moved to Balestier Road to set up the iconic stand-alone restaurant in 1998, and since then, overseas celebrities including JJ Lin and S.H.E has been to the restaurant.

As for the taste, let’s just say that everything is subjective, so don’t blame us if you head down to support only to realise you should have spent some money to buy some shoes in Sportslink instead.

If you’re keen to visit for a meal, Founder asks that you make a reservation first so that we can all stay safe while enjoying the famous bak kut teh.

You can do so via telephone:

• Hotel Boss outlet: 6816 2582
• Bugis outlet: 6255 3889
• Downtown East outlet: 6344 2588