4 days ago
Holland Village at a crossroads: Can the indie enclave reclaim its lost vibe?
[SINGAPORE] Once a magnet for nightlife and alfresco dining, Holland Village teemed with diners and bar-goers on weekends. Today, the once-bustling indie enclave faces thinning crowds and shuttered storefronts, in a neighbourhood struggling to find its rhythm.
'Holland Village is a forgotten gem,' said Dasmond Gan, owner of V Lounge Bar, which occupies a second-storey unit along Lorong Mambong. 'On long weekends, the streets are quiet, with very few customers around. Every business is struggling – there's no footfall anywhere.'
The 60-seat bar reaches full occupancy once or twice weekly but serves just 20 to 30 customers most nights, with Sundays as low as 10.
' Holland Village is a forgotten gem. On long weekends, the streets are quiet, with very few customers around. Every business is struggling – there's no footfall anywhere. '
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Dasmond Gan, owner of V Lounge Bar
Month on month, restaurant sales fell 3.7 per cent in April, based on the latest Department of Statistics data. Sales from cafe, food courts and other eating places inched up 0.6 per cent. With dwindling foot traffic, Holland Village businesses are struggling to stay afloat.
Convenience store Cheers has closed for good, with a 'for lease' sign placed on its doors. Next door, butcher shop Swiss Butchery has shuttered its brick-and-mortar outlet and taken operations online since February.
Along Holland Avenue, Sens Dining, a Japanese restaurant serving teppanyaki and omakase, closed in April after its space was repossessed by its landlord.
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Swiss Butchery shuttered its physical store and has taken operations online since February. PHOTO: CHONG XIN WEI, BT
While longstanding establishments – such as British Indian Curry Hut and Wala Wala Cafe Bar – are still holding on, sustained largely by a pool of regulars, their top and bottom lines have taken a hit.
Footfall at British Indian Curry Hut has slipped more than 30 per cent since 2019, said general manager Khader Basha Ghouse Basha.
Revenue has fallen 37 per cent from pre-pandemic levels. The restaurant sees an average of 1,800 checks and 500 takeaway receipts per month.
Along the same street, Italian restaurant La Nonna logged an 8 per cent year-on-year decline in sales in the first three quarters of 2025, said owner Olivier Dyens. 'Our margin was already melting like snow in the sun. Now with lower sales, we are starting to make small losses,' he said.
' Our margin was already melting like snow in the sun. Now with lower sales, we are starting to make small losses. '
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Olivier Dyens, owner of Italian restaurant La Nonna
Road closures
Road closures in Holland Village have contributed to the revenue slump, tenants said.
The neighbourhood's two main thoroughfares, Lorong Mambong and Lorong Liput, are closed every day, with swing gates from 6.30 pm to 2.30 am – introduced in 2002 after the 9/11 terrorist attack. From Dec 3, 2023, the entrance near Holland Village MRT station closes from 6.30 pm to 2.30 am. From Dec 20, 2024, the road closure at the entrance was extended to Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, eves and public holidays from 6.30 pm to 2.30 am.
A spokesperson from Buona Vista Constituency Office said the time-based road closure for parts of Lorong Mambong and Lorong Liput was first introduced in 2002 to enhance safety in popular and high-footfall public areas.
Car visitors can park at four locations: One Holland Village basement, Holland Road Shopping Centre basement, Block 10A multi-storey car park and Warna Road open-air lot.
'In December 2023, the closure was expanded to cover the broader Holland Village area as part of a broader strategy to enhance its safety. This expansion was supported by on-the-ground consultations with stakeholders,' the spokesperson added.
Operators said the road closures have led to lost sales and customer dissatisfaction, as Wala Wala's owner Stanley Yeo noted.
'The overall experience has become less convenient for both customers and delivery partners, and unfortunately, that deters repeat visits,' he added.
Takeaways and deliveries, which account for 30 per cent of La Nonna's sales receipts, fell 30 per cent in the first quarter of this year, said Dyens.
Yeo also noted that with the closure of the open-air carpark in March this year, the number of available parking lots in Holland Village shrank significantly. 'Visitors are finding it more difficult to secure parking, which may be gradually deterring them from coming to the area.'
' The open-air carpark closed on Mar 9 to make way for new Housing and Development Board flats, said the constituency office's spokesperson, who acknowledged the 'new challenges' brought about by the closure. It added that it is working with stakeholders and relevant agencies to manage this. '
The open-air carpark closed on Mar 9 to make way for new Housing and Development Board flats, said the constituency office's spokesperson, who acknowledged the 'new challenges' brought about by the closure. It added that it is working with stakeholders and relevant agencies to manage this.
Changing consumer habits, reduced spending
Tenants also feel the pinch from post-pandemic shifts in consumer habits. V Lounge's Gan said the strong Singapore dollar against other currencies has spurred outbound travel and loss of customers.
Wala Wala's Yeo observed that consumer habits across generations have shifted. Gen X is going out less, possibly due to health or financial reasons, while Gen Z prefers digital spaces such as online gaming over nightlife. Millennials, though familiar with pre-pandemic nightlife, are now more focused on essentials than leisure.
'These changing habits have had a lasting impact on the social and commercial landscape of Holland Village.'
' Wala Wala owner Stanley Yeo observed that consumer habits across generations have shifted. 'These changing habits have had a lasting impact on the social and commercial landscape of Holland Village.' '
Nasen Thiagarajan, president of Singapore's Nightlife Business Association (SNBA), also pointed out that dampened consumer sentiment caused by macro uncertainties led to reduced spending and lower footfall.
High rents, additional costs
While footfall has thinned and spending has slowed, one thing remains high: rents – compounding the squeeze on already fragile bottom lines.
At That Wine Place, owner Lee Joon Peng pays about S$28,000 per month for a two-storey unit opposite Holland Village Park – up 20 per cent since it opened in 2020.
'This place never makes money because rents are already so high. If this were my only job, I wouldn't have survived. We are not breaking even at all.'
' 'This place never makes money because rents are already so high. If this were my only job, I wouldn't have survived. We are not breaking even at all.' '
—
Lee Joon Peng, owner of That Wine Place
At V Lounge, rent makes up half of total expenses and runs into five figures monthly. With lower sales, the bar has fallen into the red on several occasions, said Gan.
Wala Wala's Yeo said: 'Managing rent increase has definitely been challenging, especially in the current economic climate, where footfall and discretionary spending have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.'
Rents at Wala Wala rose 9 per cent over the past two years. To cut costs, the restaurant shortened operating hours on quieter days, trimming utility and staff bills.
During the pandemic, it shuttered its live music space on the second floor as live entertainment was halted.
'Maintaining a space with high fixed costs, while unable to generate revenue from live performances, was simply unsustainable,' said Yeo.
When Wala Wala's lease came up for renewal, the landlord for the upper-floor space declined to adjust rent despite the changed landscape. In contrast, the ground-floor landlord offered a sustainable rate, allowing Wala Wala to stay, he added.
Crowds at Wala Wala pre-pandemic. The cafe bar had to close its live music space on the second floor during Covid-19 as live entertainment was halted. PHOTO: BT FILE
Beyond rents, tenants in Lorong Mambong and Lorong Liput pay 'a few hundred dollars a month' to use the outdoor refreshment area. They also pay about S$300 per month to cover security costs and management fees, as well as fees to use the walkway after 6.30 pm, said La Nonna's Dyens.
'These additional expenses are layered on top of the already demanding costs of day-to-day operations – especially in an environment where footfall and sales have declined,' said Yeo.
Business at That Wine Place has been 'up and down' since the bar opened in 2020, and foot traffic patchy. 'We can have no reservations for two days but can fill out spaces by 8 pm the next day. Sales are unpredictable,' said Lee.
Too many cooks
Adding to the pressure was the opening of a new mall at One Holland Village in 2023, bringing a fresh slate of new food and beverage (F&B) options to the area.
Tenants include casual eateries and prominent names such as Japanese bistro Ginkyo by Kinki and wood-fire grill restaurant Fireplace.
Developed by Far East Organization, Sekisui House and Sino Group, the mall spans 145,310 square feet and is fully leased.
In 2018, the Far East-led consortium clinched the coveted commercial and residential site in Holland Road for S$1.21 billion, or nearly S$1,888 per square foot per plot ratio.
Deborah Tan, Far East Organization's director for operations and marketing, commercial group, said: 'We believe that the location was ready for revitalisation as it offered a chance to bring new energy to an already established and authentic community.'
She added: 'One Holland Village is conceptualised to complement the low-rise, shopping-street character of the neighbourhood, with an emphasis on creating more public spaces and enhancing the liveliness of the area.'
The influx of eateries is posing stiffer competition in an already saturated F&B landscape, though some point to new upsides.
For one, its 464-lot carpark has improved visitor accessibility. Wala Wala's Yeo said this has encouraged some regulars to return. While sales have yet to see a significant increase, he noted that there may be some spillover effect from the mall.
Tenants also observed a new crowd from homeowners at the 296-unit One Holland Village Residences, which is fully sold. About 90 per cent of homebuyers are locals and permanent residents, with the remainder coming from countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia and the US, said Far East's Tan.
Le Bon Funk moved into a corner unit along Holland Road in 2023, drawn by the new mall and residential developments, said chef-owner Keirin Buck.
While walk-in traffic at the Holland Village outlet accounts for just 10 to 15 per cent of customers – compared with about 30 per cent at its Club Street branch – Buck said business has been good and the 60-seater still fills up most nights.
Still, some worry F&B supply is outpacing actual demand. SNBA's Thiagarajan said food options in Holland Village have grown 30 per cent since the mall's opening.
'The area doesn't necessarily have more people – it just has more options. If businesses in the mall are doing okay, while the streets remain quiet, it means we're not seeing fresh footfall. We need people.'
Nearby is the ageing Holland Road Shopping Centre, where magazine store Thambi shut down in 2024 and other tenants have also closed. While the strata-titled property has been showing signs of retail fatigue, new operators are set to move in.
' Revitalising Holland Village requires acknowledging that the old formula simply will not work in today's landscape. The vibrant, cross-island crowd we once attracted now consumes differently. The goal now is not to recreate the past, but to interpret the village for today's audience. '
—
Stanley Yeo, owner of Wala Wala
Plans for revitalisation
To attract customers and boost sales, some businesses are diversifying.
At night, V Lounge operates as a whiskey bar. Gan is considering opening from noon for coffee, offering a daytime space to work and relax.
To boost sales, V Lounge's Gan converts its space to host events, such as pottery lessons and art exhibitions. PHOTO: CHONG XIN WEI, BT
The bar can also host events. Renting out the space brings in additional income – a pottery class, for instance, can fetch between S$1,000 and S$3,000, depending on the duration of the session, said Gan.
At the precinct level, Thiagarajan said several tenants are exploring marketing initiatives to improve footfall along Lorong Mambong and Lorong Liput.
These include a three-month campaign starting July or August, coinciding with SG60 celebrations, where participating restaurants will offer discounts, product deals and vouchers. Diners who visit all outlets can enter a lucky draw.
These tenants have plans to hold four marquee events annually, starting from 2026. They could include National Day, Chinese New Year, Christmas and other major dates.
Wala Wala's Yeo said: 'Revitalising Holland Village requires acknowledging that the old formula simply will not work in today's landscape. The vibrant, cross-island crowd we once attracted now consumes differently.'
'The goal now is not to recreate the past, but to interpret the village for today's audience. This includes integrating social media strategies, collaborating with influencers, and creating content-worthy experiences that resonate with a digitally savvy demographic.'
