Arya News - Singapore F&B operators are increasingly using dual-concept spaces to maximise revenue and offset high rents, exemplified by establishments like Bitters & Love/Free The Robot.
SINGAPORE – In a high-rent, manpower-tight market, some food and beverage (F&B) operators are squeezing more out of a single unit by giving it two distinct identities.
An early example is 118 Telok Ayer Street. Since May 2015, cocktail bar Bitters & Love has been operating at night, while Free The Robot runs the same 1,000 sq ft space during the day, serving coffee, pasta and steak.
Co-founder Beverly Yeoh says: “It makes sense to maximise our rental with two concepts in the same space to generate more revenue since rent increases each time we renew our lease. It’s not likely to go down.”
She adds: “It’s a landlords’ market… We all need to find creative ways to sustain our businesses and value-add to our offerings if we want longevity.”
At Far East Shopping Centre, Kangji Curry Mee and Gai Inn Oyster Izakaya have shared a 350 sq ft unit, switching from lunch to dinner service, since November 2024. “Rather than keep the kitchen idle half the day, we thought, why not share it?” says co-owner Eugene Heng.
At Clarke Quay, 4,500 sq ft Home Singapore operates as cafe Home Dawn by day and Mandopop livehouse Home Dusk by night. Both have been operational since December 2023.
Mr Nick Yeo, founder and chief executive of F&B group Corinthians Asia Group, which owns Home Singapore, says the dual concept reduces risk because there is no need for two locations, two rentals or two renovation budgets. “We maximise one unit across both day and night, which helps with cost control and overall space efficiency,” he adds.
In Amoy Street, Stay Gold Flamingo splits its 2,000 sq ft into a coffee bar upfront and a cocktail bar at the back. Co-founder Jerrold Khoo, who recently added a wine bar to the front, says: “Cafes and bars have a certain synergy. Both exist like a pit stop – during lunch, after work, before going home.”
The Straits Times takes a closer look at these four dual-concept spaces.
Curry noodles by day, izakaya by night
Where: B1-04 Havelock 2, 2 Havelock Road
Open: 10am to 3pm (Mondays to Saturdays)
Info: @ kangjicurrymee on Instagram
Enso Izakaya
Open: 5.30pm to midnight (Mondays to Saturdays)
Tel: 9644-6890
Info: @enso.izakaya on Instagram
The success of two-in-one Kangji Curry Mee and Gai Inn Oyster Izakaya at Far East Shopping Centre has spawned a second dual concept, this time pairing Kangji Curry Mee and Enso Izakaya, which opened on Nov 4 at Havelock 2.
The new outlet runs on the same split-shift model as the first, which opened a year ago.
At the original outlet in Orchard, Kangji Curry Mee, which sells an elevated version of northern Malaysian-style curry noodles from $9.90 a bowl, operates from 9.30am to 2.30pm from Mondays to Saturdays. In the evening, the space resets to Gai Inn Oyster Izakaya, serving Japan-imported seafood, oysters and sake to an 18- to 20-seat crowd. Signature items include Grilled Hyogo Oyster with Ponzu ($12).
Both concepts are co-owned by chefs Patrick Tan and Eugene Heng, both 40, who specialise in Japanese cuisine. Mr Lee Yee Kang, 36, is the resident chef of Kangji Curry Mee.
At Havelock 2, Kangji Curry Mee serves Signature Kangji Curry Mee ($9.90), a bowl layered with Thai crispy pork, fish cake, egg, tau pok and pork skin in a rich, spicy broth.
Come evening, the space flips to Enso Izakaya, solely owned and helmed by Mr Heng, serving up dishes such as three kinds of aged sashimi for $20++.
The menu moves between seasonal small plates and classic izakaya dishes, encouraging a slower rhythm of eating.
The unit is slightly larger than its Orchard location – seating 22 to 24 diners – but the fundamentals remain the same: two brands, one compact kitchen.
“Sharing one kitchen allows each concept to grow without the weight of doubling rent or equipment. It lets every chef focus on what he does best while keeping the operations sustainable,” says Mr Heng.
“For diners, it means two completely different experiences in the same room, from day to night. This duality has become our way of working and the story we continue to build as we grow.”
Coffee, wine and cocktails at Stay Gold Flamingo
Flamingo Coffee & Wine and Stay Gold
Where: 68/69 Amoy Street
Tel: 8876 7364
Info: Go to www.staygoldflamingo.com or e-mail reachout@staygoldflamingo.com
Flamingo Coffee & Wine
Open: 9am to 4.30pm, 6pm to midnight (Mondays to Saturdays)
Open: 5pm to midnight (Mondays to Saturdays)
In Amoy Street, Stay Gold Flamingo – opened in 2021 – splits its shophouse unit into Flamingo Coffee & Wine at the front, a 25-seat daytime cafe that becomes a wine bar at sundown; and Stay Gold, a 70-seat cocktail bar tucked at the back. The dual concept opened in September 2021.
The exterior of Stay Gold Flamingo, which houses Flamingo Coffee & Wine at the front of the shophouse unit, and cocktail bar Stay Gold at the back. PHOTO: STAY GOLD FLAMINGO/THE STRAITS TIMES
Co-founder, creative director and general manager Jerrold Khoo, 35, envisioned Stay Gold as a classic cocktail bar where guests could settle in with an Old-Fashioned or Dry Martini “while listening to rock music from bands like Guns N’ Roses without feeling a drop in service or comfort level”.
The name was inspired by a scene in the 1983 American coming-of-age film The Outsiders. The phrase Stay Gold references American poet Robert Frost’s Nothing Gold Can Stay. “I wanted a bar where I could remind people to stay true, a happy place, a place to come when you’re jaded but leave reinvigorated, even by a mere bit,” he says.
Flamingo serves as a daily coffee stop that transitions into a casual wine-and-vinyl bar at night, featuring wines from lesser-known regions such as Georgia and Taiwan.
Running two concepts in a venue this size makes practical sense, he adds, as it lowers the risk of operating a single oversized space.
The challenge was designing a daytime venue that could transit naturally into an evening spot. Flamingo embodies a carefree beach-town spirit with salmon-pink upholstery, terracotta-red ceilings and rattan furnishings.
Stay Gold leans into its rock-bar personality with a rippled mirrored ceiling, moody blue walls and pink neon lights.
At Flamingo, diners can order White Coffee ($6++), made with its house blend of Ethiopian and Brazilian arabica beans, offering notes of milk chocolate, hazelnut and red berries with a caramel finish.
Wine-bar bites include the Monte Cristo Sandwich ($22++), a cheesy number served on shibuya toast.
Cocktails at Stay Gold include the Trinity Martini ($26++), made with London Dry Gin, Seaweed Gin, kombu and orange bitters; and Mango ($26++), a mix of banana-peel rum, curry leaf vermouth and carrot-mango foam.
Coffee by day, cocktails and DJs by night in Telok Ayer
Free The Robot and Bitters & Love
Where: 118 Telok Ayer Street
Tel: 6438-1836
Open: Noon to 3pm (Wednesdays to Fridays), 11am to 4pm (weekends)
Open: 6pm to midnight (Wednesdays to Saturdays)
Along Telok Ayer Street, Bitters & Love and Free The Robot are the classic two-in-one combo. Bitters & Love opened in 2012 in North Canal Road and moved to its current 50-seat premises at 118 Telok Ayer Street in May 2015. Six months later, the team launched Free The Robot in the same space, creating a cafe-by-day, bar-by-night pairing.
Free The Robot is a cafe in Telok Ayer Street. PHOTO: FREE THE ROBOT/THE STRAITS TIMES
Moving closer to the Central Business District brought heavier daytime traffic, and the three co-founders – Ms Beverly Yeoh, 39, Mr Ernest Goh, 50, and Ms Fiona Fernandez, 41 – decided to add a coffee concept to the space as they had been wanting to launch a cafe too.
The cafe was given its own name, despite sharing the same space as the bar, as the founders wanted its branding to be separate from the bar’s. The two concepts share the same interior, equipment and nine-person team, with about an hour’s reset between cafe and bar.
Patrons include office workers from the area, tourists and locals who treat it as a destination brunch spot.
Ms Yeoh says: “Some customers come for drinks and, when they find out we offer coffee and brunch during the day, they end up coming back to try out the cafe and support us.”
The reverse happens too, with cafegoers returning for cocktails at night.
The name Free The Robot was inspired by people-watching along Telok Ayer. Before noon, the street is usually quiet. But once lunch hour hits, office workers flood the area. The team joked about “Corp-Bots” being set free, and the phrase stuck.
Today, Free The Robot – which roasts its own coffee beans – runs from Wednesdays to Fridays during lunch and serves brunch on weekends. House favourites include Blue Swimmer Crab Pasta ($28++), tagliatelle with crab meat and baby scallops tossed in a housemade chilli crab spice blend and topped with crispy garlic chips.
By day, the space is filled with the aroma of roasted beans and natural light. As dusk approaches, the lights dim and a signature bar scent of vanilla, amber and cinnamon takes over.
Bitters & Love is a cocktail bar that shares the same space as cafe Free The Robot. PHOTO: BITTERS & LOVE/THE STRAITS TIMES
From Wednesdays to Saturdays, 6pm to midnight, the unit becomes Bitters & Love – a dimly lit, romantic drinks bar with DJ sets on Fridays and weekends. It caters to those aged 25 to 60, serving a menu that ranges from easy-drinking cocktails to stiff classics.
Popular drinks include Yakult ($28++), a fruity and creamy mix of Cointreau, fresh mango, yuzu and Greek yogurt; and Message in a Bottle ($28++), served under a glass cloche with spiced rum, peated whisky and Angostura bitters smoked with applewood chips.
Cafe by day, Mandopop livehouse after sundown
Home Dawn and Home Dusk
Where: 02-03 CQ @ Clarke Quay, Block 3A River Valley Road
Open: 10.30am to 5pm (weekdays), 10am to 5pm (weekends)
Home Dusk
Open: 5pm to 1am (Sundays to Thursdays), 5pm to 2am (Fridays and Saturdays)
Tel: 8076-0203
At CQ @ Clarke Quay, Home Singapore takes the dual-concept idea to a much larger scale.
The 180-seat space, owned by the Corinthians Asia Group, opened in December 2023. By day, it is Home Dawn – a cafe serving coffee, brunch and light mains. As evening falls, it becomes Home Dusk – a Mandopop livehouse with Hunan and Sichuan dishes, beer, cocktails and soju.
Founder and chief executive Nick Yeo, 36, wanted a name that was “clear, fun and easy to remember”. “Home is something everyone can relate to. It gives a feeling of comfort and warmth,” he says.
The dual concept was planned from the start. “When we saw this venue, it was bright and spacious, and we felt it was perfect for two concepts under one roof.”
Home Dawn and Home Dusk share the same space. PHOTO: HOME SINGAPORE/THE STRAITS TIMES
“From the start, we created two separate social media accounts, two Google Business pages and two sets of branding. Some customers do not know both concepts are housed in the same venue, which shows that the distinction is clear.”
But first, the management had to work out how to schedule the team across two shifts without overworking anyone. Mr Yeo says: “It took some trial and error, but eventually we created a rotation system where some staff focus on day, some on night and some overlap during the transition hours.” Once the workflow stabilised, operations ran smoothly.
The decor is deliberately neutral – off-white and beige tones with orange sofas – so that it reads as cosy in the day and vibrant at night. Lighting drives most of the transformation.
Warm white lights and natural daylight illuminate Home Dawn. At night, stage lighting, LED tubes and preset colours take over to create the livehouse atmosphere.
Home Dawn attracts young working adults, cafe lovers, brunchers and families.
Its signatures include Pain Perdu ($24++), a thick brioche French toast with fresh berries; and the zesty Orange Americano ($7.50++), an Americano mixed with fresh orange juice.
Home Dusk draws Mandopop fans and an after-work crowd aged 25 to 55.
Popular picks include Hunan Style Wok-fried Pork with Green Chillies ($22++) and the towering Yakult Soju Tower ($78++), made with Chorong Chorong Soju in flavours such as green apple, green grape, lychee and peach mixed with Yakult.