Thousands of restaurants in the world’s second-richest country closed due to poverty

Casual French restaurant Encore by Rhubarb in Duxton Hill is one of the latest establishments to announce its closure.

In a post above Instagram On May 26, chef Paul Longworth, 47 years old, said: “After 12 wonderful years, I have decided to close the restaurant.” He said that instead of feeling sad, hurt or angry, the decision to close the restaurant brought Paul “a little relief” and a sense of pride for his contributions over the years and receiving the love of customers. He refused to answer the media but added that “it is in the process of completing the closure”.

Paul worked at Au Petit Salut restaurant (Singapore) before opening the 20-seat high-end restaurant Rhubarb in 2014. The restaurant won a Michelin star in 2016 – the year the Singapore Michelin guide was launched globally. In 2025, Paul’s restaurant was stripped of its stars after he converted the restaurant into a more casual destination with 32 seats, serving a sumptuous three-course lunch for $48 per person. Encore used to be sheet Straistimes Voted Best New Restaurant of 2025.

But in an interview in March, he said that the move to a more casual model meant he had to fill all the seats. But the restaurant is often not full, causing Paul to ask himself whether he can still meet the needs of the market and diners.

Over the past two years, the restaurant industry in Singapore has suffered many losses.

The SGD (Singapore dollar) makes traveling and spending abroad more attractive. People are also tightening their spending in the face of global political and economic instability, especially after the Middle East conflict that took place from February 28. In addition, Singaporeans also face constant difficulties in renting houses, and restaurant owners have “headaches” because of hiring workers.

All of this has led to the closure of many restaurants across all segments. Recent closures include high-end establishments such as Spanish restaurant Sugarra and pastry chain Tarte by Cheryl Koh. In addition, popular places such as The Horse’s Mouth bar and French cafe The Black Sheep also announced their closure.

Those set to close include traditional restaurant Wing Seong Fatty’s and Peranakan restaurant Nana Dolly’s – both scheduled to close later this month.

However, many other restaurants are still open. According to statistics from the Accounting and Business Administration, 1,436 new food businesses were registered from January to April, an increase of 7% over the same period last year. However, also in the first 4 months of the year, 1,267 businesses went bankrupt, nearly half of the total number of closures in the whole of 2025.

Ms. Magdalene Tang, 64 years old, owner of Mag’s Wine Restaurant on Neil Road, has known chef Paul since 2009, when he came to Singapore to work.

She highly appreciated the chef’s skills at Encore. “But we live in an age where people often value the cheap and ephemeral over the well-thought-out and lasting things,” she said.

Tang believes that the closure of restaurants does not reflect the talent of chefs but reflects the current situation. The culinary industry is no longer vibrant but has become quieter and poorer because many places are closed. Tang hopes this is not the last chapter for Paul or the restaurant industry.

In 2025, Singapore is ranked as the second richest country in the world based on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, with 90,700 USD and behind Switzerland (100,000 USD). Norway ranked third with 86,000 USD, according to the rankings of the British economic magazine Economist in January.

Data from the Ministry of Manpower shows that workers in Singapore will work an average of 43.3 hours per week by 2024, equivalent to nearly 6.2 hours per day. Meanwhile in Norway, the third-ranked country, workers work an average of 33.2 hours per week, equivalent to more than 4.7 hours a day.