Hawker who closed his fifth eatery in 5 years is ‘done with F&B’: ‘I’ve lost the passion’

Given the demanding nature of the F&B scene, courage often means rolling up your sleeves and diving headfirst into the unpredictability of the trade. For serial hawkerpreneur Raymond Tan, 36, it also means knowing when to hang up the apron. Over the past five years, he’s launched four food concepts – including Reimondo “wok hei” seafood congee and casual Western-Asian fusion restaurant Super Supper – only to watch them fizzle out eventually.
Despite this, Tan’s passion for the F&B industry had been nothing short of relentless. Just last year, after telling 8days.sg that he was quitting for good, he returned with a new venture three months later in an ITE food court.
But this time, he assured us, it’s different. “It takes a lot of perseverance to be a hawker. I’ve kind of lost the passion because of the constant worrying about many things, like manpower issues, rental costs and not being able to spend time with family,” said the father of two.
Once a troubled youth, Tan served time for shoplifting, house-breaking and car theft. In his twenties, he made his first million with a car rental and repair business but gambled it away. Things turned around when he launched the first Reimondo hawker stall in Pasir Ris in February 2020, followed by a second outlet at Timbre+ One North.
In March 2022, the hawker opened his first standalone two-storey casual eatery, Super Supper, at a Desker Road shophouse in Little India. However, it closed just five months later with a loss of S$280,000 (US$208,600) due to a lack of steady patronage, high overheads, and bad decisions due to the “gambler’s mentality” that Tan brought into the business.
To recoup his losses, he launched hawker stall Sure Come Back Wanton Mee in October 2022, alongside the remaining Reimondo Congee outlet in Pasir Ris. At the time, he believed that selling wonton mee would bring in a bigger profit compared to wok hei congee, which he felt was “not an everyday staple”. By June 2023, Tan was disillusioned by the inconsistent business and long working hours as a hawker – he closed all his stalls and planned a return to his former job as a roadside assistance mechanic.
But three months later, he surprised us with a new stall in a food court at ITE College West’s Choa Chu Kang campus in September 2023. This joint combined his three previous F&B concepts and was fully funded by an investor-partner, with Tan handling operations and cooking daily. 
After 8days.sg reported on this development, some netizens criticised the hawker for seeming fickle in his decisions. Tan addressed these comments in a TikTok video, explaining that his comeback was motivated by meeting a supportive partner and his belief in sharing his skills with those eager to learn.
Unfortunately, his renewed enthusiasm once again faced a setback due to lacklustre business. “We decided to stop operations in November as the year-end school holidays worsened the already poor business,” he said.
The pair then launched a new venture, Bak Bak Bak Chor Mee within the same month, selling the titular noodle dish based on recipes created by Tan. The stall relocated a few times before settling at its current address in an Ang Mo Kio kopitiam, where it also struggled with “slow business”.
Following his departure two months ago, Tan is no longer affiliated with the stall and says he’s “1,000 per cent certain” that he is “done with F&B”.
“For the past few years, I was determined to keep trying to create an F&B legacy. I’ve been drawing a monthly salary of S$2,000 for the past year, working hard and hoping that the business would succeed. But the manpower issues and rental were really a killer. I caught myself dragging my feet to work. That’s when I knew I had to really call it quits,” he explained. 
Tan said his partner, an owner of a local bakery chain, incurred a “five-figure loss” from their ventures. Despite this, they parted ways amicably. “My partner handled it as a very ethical businessman. Before we began the partnership, he agreed that he would not blame me [if the business failed]. We really tried our best,” he shared. 
Throughout Raymond Tan’s tumultuous journey in the F&B industry, his wife Vivian has been his unwavering pillar of support. She respected his decision to step away.
“She understands the struggles of being a hawker as she has seen firsthand the challenging business aspect as well as physical demands of the job,” he said, adding that she and their kids “miss eating the dishes we sold”.
Reflecting on his journey as a hawker, Tan said he has “no regrets” even though he admits he is “kind of tired of F&B”. “It’s been such an amazing learning journey – the joy of creating dishes, setting up the stalls, and the opportunity to meet so many nice customers along the way. It’s all been worth it!” he shared. “I am who I am because society has always been willing to give me a chance. The love and support from customers have sustained me until today, and I’m truly grateful.”
Raymond Tan told us he is now partnering with a long-time friend to run an insurance agency, focusing on motor vehicle insurance with emergency roadside assistance. He also continues to volunteer as a youth-at-risk mentor with the Industrial and Services Co-operative Society Limited (ISCOS), a non-profit organisation that facilitates the reintegration of ex-offenders into society.
“There is so much to look forward to. Now, I don’t drag my feet to work. In fact, I’m so happy that even my kids are excited about it. When I leave for work, my son asks if I’m going to help people in prison, and that really motivates me a lot,” he said. 
This story was originally published in 8Days. 
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