Keong Saik Bakery to exit Jewel Changi ‘earlier than planned’, will close Oct 23
High visitor numbers do not always translate to strong sales, says founder and chief executive Tan Yuzhong
[SINGAPORE] Keong Saik Bakery is pre-terminating its lease at Jewel Changi Airport after almost two years at the mall, with the outlet set to close on Oct 23.
Tan Yuzhong, founder and chief executive officer of the home-grown bakery, said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday (Sep 24) that rising costs and intense competition have made survival in retail spaces more difficult.
“Even in places filled with bustling footfall, true sales don’t always match the crowd you see passing by,” he added.
Keong Saik Bakery opened in Jewel – a joint venture between Changi Airport Group and CapitaLand – in 2023.
The bakery is located on the ground floor of the mall and can seat about 20 customers.
The Business Times understands that a new tenant has been found for the space, allowing Keong Saik Bakery to exit earlier than its original lease of three years and four months, with the bakery covering the incoming tenant’s rent-free period as part of the arrangement.
Keong Saik Bakery had begun discussions with the mall owner in February 2025.
Tan had previously spoken to BT about the challenges facing artisanal bakeries in Singapore.
He noted that rising operational costs, labour shortages and weakening demand for baked goods were squeezing margins.
Besides the Jewel outlet, Keong Saik Bakery has two others: one at Luzerne in Bendemeer, and the other at Chip Bee Gardens.
The Chip Bee outlet is its worst-performing store; sales dropped 50 per cent from 2022 to end-2024, with takings in some months insufficient to cover expenses.
At its peak, Keong Saik Bakery produced around 600 pastries daily across its three outlets. Today, output has halved.
With the Jewel outlet winding down, the bakery will refocus resources on the Luzerne and Chip Bee outlets.
Both outlets will offer heartier dine-in menus and extended dinner hours. The Luzerne outlet has already started serving dinner, and the Chip Bee outlet will do so from Oct 24.
“We believe in the resilience of local food businesses and the importance of community support,” said Tan. “Every visit, every order and every word of encouragement makes a difference.”
