What's a bar? New containment measures spark confusion among operators

Singapore

SOME food and beverage (F&B) establishments - including restaurants that also house bars - have expressed confusion as to whether they will be affected by tightened safe-distancing measures announced on Tuesday.

Among other things, the authorities have mandated that "all bars and entertainment venues like night clubs, discos, cinemas, theatres and karaoke outlets, where there is a high risk of transmission due to sustained close contact over a period of time" are to be closed with effect from 11.59 pm on Thursday, until April 30.

But Singapore Nightlife Business Association president and 1-Group founder Joseph Ong said it was not immediately clear which establishments the tightened measures applied to.

"Many of our members offer multi-concept venues with restaurants, bars, and live music. It is confusing because these operators do not know whether their venues constitute a bar," said Mr Ong, whose F&B portfolio includes 1-Altitude, Summerhouse and Alkaff Mansion, among others.

Shortly after Tuesday's announcement, craft beer chain TAP took to social media to assure customers that it can remain open as it has a "restaurant licence". "We remain open during this difficult period of time . . . Stay tuned. More great value deals will be announced in the coming days," it said in a Facebook post late on Tuesday night. The chain has four outlets in the central area.

Timbre, which operates several restaurants that also comprises bars and live music events, told customers, also via Facebook, that "it is business as usual" on Wednesday and Thursday, but stopped short of clarifying if it can continue operations beyond Thursday. When approached by The Business Times, the group's managing director Edward Chia said: "Sorry, we are finding out too. I suggest you speak to the authorities."

Archetypal watering hole Harry's, which touts itself as having "the largest chain of bars" with some 28 outlets across Asia, also maintained on Wednesday that it is unaffected by the tightened measures as it is considered an "F&B restaurant".

For a sense of the business impact from safe-distancing measures, F&B services rang up total sales in December last year of some S$964 million, up from S$938 million in December 2018, retail sales figures showed.

As at press time, BT understands that government agencies were still studying the matter.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) classifies each F&B establishment under one of four categories: restaurant, bar/pub, restaurant and bar, as well as nightclub. According to its website, a "restaurant" primarily serves food for consumption at its premises, and does not offer live entertainment or live music. Alcohol sales on these premises must be "incidental" to the consumption of food.

A "bar/pub", on the other hand, primarily serves alcohol for consumption on their premises "without dancing, singing or performance of live music or live entertainment".

An outlet that sells both meals and alcoholic drinks for consumption on their premises may be considered a "restaurant and bar". Under this category, the URA also takes into account if there is a kitchen or area for food preparation, and whether there are adequate dining spaces indoors.

Still, regardless of whether their shops are ordered to shut, heads of F&B firms are bracing themselves for the financial dent from these more stringent measures. For instance, chef Ming Tan of JAM at Siri House noted that half of its reservations for the coming weeks have been cancelled, following Tuesday's announcement. "Fifty per cent of our reservations were cancelled overnight," he said. "We understand that clients are trying to be socially responsible, but it also seems like they want to avoid dining out for the time being."