Boom in home-based food scene causes a stir

Restaurant owners voice concerns, with some appearing to operate on a larger scale

- Joyce Lim

From a wood-fired oven in a bungalow in East Coast, Long Weekend Pizza can churn out 200 pizzas a day. At 37 Blair Road, Little Social serves Peranakan dinners to up to 60 guests at a time in a residential conservation shophouse. And in HDB flats, cocktail bars have popped up serving bespoke drinks that can cost up to $25 a pop.

These are some examples of the booming home-based food and beverage scene in Singapore.

Some of these home businesses are operating on a scale that rivals full-fledged restaurants, causing restaurant owners to voice concern over what they see as a growing, yet unregulated sector.

Online and in interviews with The Straits Times, restaurateurs called for fairer rules. They say many of these home operations are not subject to the same strict regulatory, licensing and tax requirements faced by bricks-and-mortar restaurants.

Mr Chua Ee Chien, who used to run a bar and restaurant for six years, wrote on LinkedIn earlier in June about what he called "double standards" for home businesses.

Home-based bars operate without a liquor licence, home restaurants do not need food safety permits, and some businesses even use their domestic helpers to help with service and food preparation, he said.

"Something feels broken," said Mr Chua, whose post came after a June 1 article in The Sunday Times about home-based cafes.

BRISK BUSINESS Some home businesses here appear to be doing a brisk trade, and have become darlings of foodies and food critics, with reservations hard to come by.

For instance, Lucky House Cantonese Private Kitchen run by Mr Sam Wong in an East Coast terraced house, charges $130 per person and has been booked out from now until March 2026.

Little Social, another popular home business, charges $140 per head for a Peranakan meal of seven dishes, and dining parties can stretch from four to 60 people.