Firstly
can you tell us about your new restaurant?
We have 3 restaurants in Singapore. Stormy Weather Bar and Grill, which
as seafood restaurant, Wildfire, which is a woodfire pizza restaurant
and Igor's, which is a horror dinner theater.
Is it a pre-existing building or did you have to find a architect?
Were building permits a headache, or are the government very efficient?
It is a pre-existing building but we had to alter the structure and had
to wait about 4 months for the approvals and the work to proceed. The
permits are not a problem they just take 6 weeks to process. No faster
no slower. Its efficient in a matter that you know when it will be approved
or disapproved.
Do
you have to get special permission to open a business in Singapore's
a foreigner?
No, you only need a sponsor or a $3000.00 bank guarantee to get the
work visa. After you get the visa, you have to apply for a company through
the ROCB. The cost for this is around $2000 all in.
Is the a lot of read tape to go through to get liquor permits and
the other ecessary documentation involved in opening a restaurant?
Unless you are a criminal, you can get the licenses before you are ready
to open the doors. Usually 2 weeks to get the liquor license. The restaurant
license is subject to approval by the Ministry of Environment with an
inspection. The inspection will last about ten minutes and they look for
the usual standards of North America with a few inexpensive twists. Not
really a big deal.
How did you go about recruiting staff, I understand the labor market
is very tight?
Find a good manager and Chef and the rest will come. My advice...spend
good money on top. There is a saying that says" the fish stinks down from
the head". I live by this in Asia.
How limited are you to employing expats?
You can hire usually specialists. Meaning, one manager, one chef, one
marketing...but limited to necessary requirements. Just use your head
and pocket book wisely.
How
will you market the restaurant, do you have a P.R company?
We do our own marketing. We have a group PR and Marketing manager(Canadian)
who does all the printed matters, ads, promotions etc. There are many
avenues of advertising.
Equipment and furnishings, where did you purchase these from?
Is this expensive or not too bad being as there is so much manufacturing
taking place in your neighboring countries? Easy and Cheap. There are
many companies that do local equipment as well as import. We have garland
stoves, WoodStone pizza ovens, local fridges(I would recommend because
you can get them fixed faster), rational combi's... you want it, you can
get it.
What about recycling and garbage control. I know Singapore has a reputation
of being very clean is waste management a big deal and is there big fines
involved if you do not stick to the guidelines?
Waste management is not a problem. Recycling is not widely practiced as
it is too expensive. We do have to separate our wet and dry rubbish though.
Can
you also think of any other pertinent questions that you think
should be included, or information that you would have liked
to have known before the onset of your project.
Taxes, CPF, GST...mostly money and accounting issues. Things like transport
allowances for staff after midnight. CPF the rate changes according to
the economy. CPF is a providence fund which the employee contributes 20%
of their income and the company has to match it. It is a very costly exercise.
GST- if you have revenue less than 1 million in a year then you don't
have to charge or pay GST. If you go over and you did not register, then
you are liable for 3% of sales. Staff is hard to find...really hard to
find...let me re-phrase f.....g hard to find.
Mark Cholewka Igor's Group Managing Director Singapore
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