Local rapper Sheikh Haikel and his wife, Anna Belle Francis, will relocate their halal-certified Hainanese chicken rice shop to Bussorah Street in July after being asked to vacate their current premises.
Speaking to 8days.sg, Francis said their landlord informed them in April that they had to move out within the same month.
Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice ceased operations at its 783 North Bridge Road outlet on June 7.
Francis said that they were not given a reason for the sudden vacation and the landlord provided no room for negotiation or discussion.
"We didn’t understand why we were put in that position," she lamented. "I had to beg [the landlord to allow us to stay] for one more month."
She reportedly admitted that she had "overlooked" the lease expiry, but "assumed" the landlord would allow them to renew it.
"The lease simply came to its end after two years, and the landlord chose not to continue it — despite all the time and investment we had put into renovating and branding the space," she shared.
The 47-year-old also added that she tried to have a conversation with the landlord about renewing the rental lease, but he told her "he wasn’t running a charity".
"That hit hard," said Francis.
In a social media post on June 6, Sheikh, 50, announced that they were officially moving their eatery to Bussorah Street, a six-minute walk from their former outlet.
"And just like that, our two years here (in North Bridge Road) have come to an end... We’ve loved serving you our signature chicken rice at this spot, but it’s time for our chickens to cross the street to a new home!" he said.
Francis described to 8days that the two months they spent finding a new space was one of the toughest periods for the couple since they ventured into the food and beverages (F&B) industry in 2017.
Her experience left her strongly convinced that "local F&B businesses need better resources — not handouts, but real access to loans, mentorship, lawyers, and financial advisors, otherwise local businesses will keep falling through the cracks".
The couple opened Hai Ge Ji — a play on Haikel's name — in July 2024, and continued to expand with two halal-certified Hai Ge Ji Beef Noodles outlets in Yishun and the Kopitiam Food Hall in Plaza Singapore respectively.
Sheikh said that despite all that has happened, he doesn't "feel jaded at all".
"At the end of the day, it’s always about the people who come to eat — the look on their faces when they’re satisfied, when the food hits right. That never gets old," he added.
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