Latest news with #coffeeshop
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Customers rally to support a popular Jacksonville coffee shop owner in ICE custody
Outraged customers, neighbors and a city official are rallying in support of a popular Jacksonville coffee shop owner now in ICE custody and facing potential deportation after being arrested on two misdemeanor charges amid a mental health crisis. Diana Marcela Mejia, along with her husband, Jonatan Jinete, own Artessence coffee shop, at 1505 N. Main St. in close-knit historic Springfield near downtown Jacksonville. The family-operated coffeehouse is known for its Colombian coffee, fresh pastries and sandwiches, hospitality and as a neighborhood gathering place for small community-oriented events. Mejia, a 40-year-old native of Colombia, is hospitalized in an unclear condition after being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following her arrest while suffering a mental health crisis, worried family members told the Times-Union exclusively on Aug. 10. She is legally in the United States awaiting permanent status after the family emigrated to the U.S. in December 2021 seeking political asylum, said her stepdaughter, Sharis Jinete, and daughter, Gabriela Mejia. They said no one in their family has been able to speak to Meija, or find out details about her mental state or physical condition since she's been in ICE custody — currently at a Fort Lauderdale hospital. "We have called every day to check and see if she is still there. The only thing they tell us is 'she's ok and she's eating.' No one is allowed to give any details or details of her diagnosis because she is in ICE custody," Sharis Jinete said. An attorney who's also a family friend represents Mejia, but also has been unable to speak to her, they said. ICE officials couldn't be reached immediately for comment about Mejia's case. Family concern ends with St. Johns County arrest Mejia is identified as Diana Marcela Mejia-Pedraza on federal immigration detainer documents as well as St. Johns County Sheriff's Office and court records. Her mental state had been deteriorating for about two weeks before the Aug. 2 incident outside a Dollar General store in St. Augustine that led to ICE detaining her, Sharis Jinete and Gabriela Mejia told the Times-Union. They said Mejia had been having panic attacks and hallucinations because she was so fearful about ICE grabbing immigrants off the streets, then taking them to detention centers before deporting them. "She had moments where she was feeling persecuted for being an immigrant. She was having a panic attack at the Dollar General and we called the police because we felt they were going to help us," said Sharis Jinete, noting they believe Mejia might be suffering from a possible psychotic break. Because Mejia was mentally unstable, they believed police would take her to a mental health facility for evaluation and help, she said. "Because as a family, we felt defeated. We didn't know what else to do, and she was in a public space, and we were scared about what might happen," Sharis Jinete said of Mejia's arrest in St. Johns County. St. Johns County sheriff's deputies arrested Mejia following a brief scuffle about 6 p.m. Aug. 2 in the store's parking lot. She was arrested on misdemeanor charges of resisting an officer without violence and trespassing in a structure or conveyance, according to a Sheriff's Office arrest report and county court records. There is no mention in the arrest report of the sisters wanting Mejia taken to a mental health facility under the state's Baker Act. Deputy Mallory Moyers, the arresting officer, said when she arrived, Mejia was "causing a disturbance and randomly yelling at customers to leave the store in both English and Spanish." Moyers said in the report that she ordered Mejia, who was in the store parking lot, to leave with her two daughters who had arrived by that time. In addition, Moyers said that she warned Mejia several times that she was trespassing and would be arrested unless she left the store. But Mejia refused to leave, according to the arrest report. A struggle ensued when deputies tried to take Mejia into custody. Mejia is accused of resisting arrest by pulling her arms away and refusing to comply with "lawful" commands from a Sheriff's Office corporal. "At which point Corporal Miller utilized a takedown maneuver, forcefully took her [Majia] to the ground, and secured her after a brief struggle," Moyers said in the arrest report. The sisters confirmed the scuffle and that Mejia was forced to the ground and arrested. But they said they hadn't seen the arrest report or related court documents, including the ICE detainer order. Mejia was booked into the St. Johns County jail pending court proceedings, according to the Sheriff's Office report. Work halted: Judge stops work at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz.' What are they building there? More: DeSantis: FHP arrests 3,000 in immigration crackdown, plans new strike team Mejia taken into federal custody on immigration detainer On Aug. 3, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) filed an Immigration Detainer against Mejia, saying the agency had "determined that probable cause exists that the subject [Mejia] is a removeable individual." The DHS determination cited in the detainer document was in the form of a checked box for the following statement: "Biometric confirmation of the individual's identity and a records check of federal databases that affirmatively indicate, by themselves or in addition to other reliable information, that the individual either lacks immigration status or notwithstanding such status is removable under U.S. immigration law; and/or the reason." The detainer further states that any immigration officer was authorized to arrest Mejia on warrants for "immigration violations." Is Camp Blanding next detention center? Will Camp Blanding be the 'Alligator Alcatraz' of Northeast Florida? Here's what we know. Where is Diana Marcela Mejia now? The arrest warrant was served Aug. 3 on Mejia at the St. Johns County jail, according to the DHS detainer document. ICE's online detainee locator on Aug. 9 confirmed she is in custody, but doesn't say where. The sisters said that before being hospitalized, Mejia was expected to be taken to an ICE facility in Miami. Anger over ICE detention prompts community outpouring of support Longtime customers, neighbors and coffee shop newcomers are seething about Mejia's detention, which some denounced as cruel as well as unjustified and unconstitutional. An estimated 100 people showed up at the coffee shop early Saturday, Aug. 9, in response to social media posts calling for a show of support for Mejia and her family, several participants told the Times-Union. Many stood patiently in a line stretching out the Artessence front door and down the block for up to an hour just to buy a cup of its freshly brewed coffee or a breakfast pastry. And most left a generous tip — at least one as high as $50 — to help the family offset potential expenses resulting from Mejia's detention. They emphasized that Mejia and her family are caring, hard-working people who go out of their way to make people feel welcome as well as help strangers, including the homeless. Allison Galloway-Gonzalez, a patron of Artessence since it opened, became friends with the family. She was shocked by what happened to Mejia. "It's frightening, alarming, surprising, frustrating, infuriating and scary. It's all of those things," Galloway-Gonzalez told the Times-Union. She said Mejia always has a smile, if not a hug, for everyone who comes in the coffee shop, which hosts community-oriented events such as art classes and creative writing workshops as well as Spanish and English language learning nights. "Springfield is a tight community … We've become a family over here, so everyone was quick to action to show support. We all feel so close to her," Galloway-Gonzalez said. Jacksonville City Council member Jimmy Peluso, whose district includes Springfield, in an Aug. 9 Facebook post called on people to come to Artessence to show support for Mejia and her family. "We should all be at ArtEssence this morning, supporting Diana and Johnathan [sic], but also we must show support to the immigrant and Hispanic communities that are clearly being targeted by society in a way that is just plain scary," Peluso posted. Peluso later told the Times-Union that "it's truly despicable" what's happening to Mejia. "These are individuals that are doing the right things in our country and our city, and it shouldn't matter where they come from or what their status is," Peluso said of Mejia and her family. "These are individuals who are only trying to be good members of society and wanting to live the American dream." Peluso also said he wants people to realize that "good taxpaying normal citizens who have been playing by the rules their whole life, that they're at risk of being picked up." Family devastated, fear future ICE action Concern for her mental health and safety, as well as uncertainty about Mejia's future, is taking a toll on the family, the sisters said. "This has devastated our family … After my mom [Mejia] was taken by ICE, my dad and I were really, really afraid to stay in our own house. Out of fear, we left the house and stayed somewhere else," Gabriela Mejia said. Although they legally are in the country, "we're very afraid to see that even citizens have been detained by ICE and targeted," she said. Sharis Jinete said her dad, who's focusing on running the coffee shop, is the hardest hit by what has happened. "He's never done anything wrong. … But he's afraid and very, very sad because of all of this," she said. (This story was updated to correct a typo.) This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville coffee shop owner in ICE custody. What we know Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dutch Bros Shares Soar on Outlook. Is It Too Late to Buy the Stock?
Key Points Dutch Bros continues to deliver robust revenue and earnings growth. The coffeeshop operator is seeing strong same-store sales growth. The company has a huge expansion opportunity in front of it. 10 stocks we like better than Dutch Bros › Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS) demonstrated why it is one of the most exciting stories in the restaurant space when it reported its second-quarter results. The stock shot higher and recently was up more than 30% on the year. Let's take a closer look at the coffeeshop operator's results and its future prospects to see whether it's too late to buy the stock or if its momentum can continue. The long-term story is intact While it has been a mixed picture for restaurant operators in the current environment, Dutch Bros has been just humming along. In Q2, it posted another solid quarter of same-store sales (comps) growth, with systemwide comps up 6.1% and same-store transactions climbing 3.7%. Company-owned stores once again performed even better, with comps climbing 7.8% and transactions up 5.9%. Same-store sales are one of the most closely watched metrics in the restaurant and retail spaces, as they show how individual locations are performing. The company said its new order-ahead mobile ordering is helping drive growth, accounting for approximately 11.5% of its transactions in the quarter. It also remains excited by its expanded food pilots, with stores offering new food items seeing incremental growth in the morning daypart. It noted, however, that to expand its food offerings, it needs to add freezers, ovens, and different racks to shops. So, this will take time to roll out. But in stores that are piloting its new food items, it has been seeing a lift in tickets and transactions. The company also highlighted that it has started to lean into paid advertising. It said this has significantly improved both its aided and unaided awareness compared to a year ago. Dutch Bros also continues to innovate, with its new drinks helping to drive traffic. Expansion continues to be a major growth driver for the company. In the quarter, it opened 31 new shops in 13 states, with all but one company-owned. It expects to open at least 160 shops this year, which would amount to 16% growth. At quarter-end, its total shop count was 1,043, of which 725 were company-owned. It said it is well positioned to reach its goal of having 2,029 locations by 2029. The company still sees a total nationwide addressable market of 7,000 shops. Dutch Bros added that new shop productivity has been robust, with customers lining up on the first day a shop opens. The combination of strong comps and new stores led to a 28% jump in total revenue to $415.8 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) climbed nearly 37% year over year to $89 million, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) jumped 67%, from $0.12 to $0.20. Gross margins for company-owned stores rose 60 basis points to 24.3%. The company has locked in its coffee prices for the year, but it continues to monitor the impact of tariffs. About half its coffee is sourced from Brazil, and coffee accounts for about 10% of its cost of goods sold. Looking ahead, the company raised its guidance for the full year. It now expects revenue of $1.59 billion to $1.6 billion, with same-store sales growth of approximately 4.5%. It projected adjusted EBITDA to be between $285 million and $290 million. Guidance Revenue Same-Store Sales Adjusted EBITDA Original $1.56 billion to $1.58 billion 2.0% to 4.0% $265 million to $275 million Updated $1.59 billion to $1.60 billion 4.5% $295 million to $290 million Source: Company press releases. EBITDA = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Is it too late to buy the stock? Dutch Bros continues to be hitting on all cylinders, but the best could still be ahead for the company. Mobile ordering is still in its early days, while food is in its infancy. Both are seeing good early traction and should be solid growth drivers in the coming years. Meanwhile, the company has a huge expansion opportunity in front of it. Its small-shop, drive-thru model is cost-efficient, allowing it a quick payback period. It's also generating solid operating cash flow, allowing it to self-fund its store expansion without having to take on debt. Despite their size, the company's shops produce average annual sales of more than $2 million (average unit volume), so the opportunity is quite large. As such, I don't think it's too late for long-term investors to own shares of Dutch Bros, as it remains one of the best growth stocks in the restaurant space. Should you buy stock in Dutch Bros right now? Before you buy stock in Dutch Bros, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Dutch Bros wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,119,863!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025 Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Dutch Bros. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Dutch Bros Shares Soar on Outlook. Is It Too Late to Buy the Stock? was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dutch Bros Shares Soar on Outlook. Is It Too Late to Buy the Stock?
Key Points Dutch Bros continues to deliver robust revenue and earnings growth. The coffeeshop operator is seeing strong same-store sales growth. The company has a huge expansion opportunity in front of it. 10 stocks we like better than Dutch Bros › Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS) demonstrated why it is one of the most exciting stories in the restaurant space when it reported its second-quarter results. The stock shot higher and recently was up more than 30% on the year. Let's take a closer look at the coffeeshop operator's results and its future prospects to see whether it's too late to buy the stock or if its momentum can continue. The long-term story is intact While it has been a mixed picture for restaurant operators in the current environment, Dutch Bros has been just humming along. In Q2, it posted another solid quarter of same-store sales (comps) growth, with systemwide comps up 6.1% and same-store transactions climbing 3.7%. Company-owned stores once again performed even better, with comps climbing 7.8% and transactions up 5.9%. Same-store sales are one of the most closely watched metrics in the restaurant and retail spaces, as they show how individual locations are performing. The company said its new order-ahead mobile ordering is helping drive growth, accounting for approximately 11.5% of its transactions in the quarter. It also remains excited by its expanded food pilots, with stores offering new food items seeing incremental growth in the morning daypart. It noted, however, that to expand its food offerings, it needs to add freezers, ovens, and different racks to shops. So, this will take time to roll out. But in stores that are piloting its new food items, it has been seeing a lift in tickets and transactions. The company also highlighted that it has started to lean into paid advertising. It said this has significantly improved both its aided and unaided awareness compared to a year ago. Dutch Bros also continues to innovate, with its new drinks helping to drive traffic. Expansion continues to be a major growth driver for the company. In the quarter, it opened 31 new shops in 13 states, with all but one company-owned. It expects to open at least 160 shops this year, which would amount to 16% growth. At quarter-end, its total shop count was 1,043, of which 725 were company-owned. It said it is well positioned to reach its goal of having 2,029 locations by 2029. The company still sees a total nationwide addressable market of 7,000 shops. Dutch Bros added that new shop productivity has been robust, with customers lining up on the first day a shop opens. The combination of strong comps and new stores led to a 28% jump in total revenue to $415.8 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) climbed nearly 37% year over year to $89 million, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) jumped 67%, from $0.12 to $0.20. Gross margins for company-owned stores rose 60 basis points to 24.3%. The company has locked in its coffee prices for the year, but it continues to monitor the impact of tariffs. About half its coffee is sourced from Brazil, and coffee accounts for about 10% of its cost of goods sold. Looking ahead, the company raised its guidance for the full year. It now expects revenue of $1.59 billion to $1.6 billion, with same-store sales growth of approximately 4.5%. It projected adjusted EBITDA to be between $285 million and $290 million. Guidance Revenue Same-Store Sales Adjusted EBITDA Original $1.56 billion to $1.58 billion 2.0% to 4.0% $265 million to $275 million Updated $1.59 billion to $1.60 billion 4.5% $295 million to $290 million Source: Company press releases. EBITDA = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Is it too late to buy the stock? Dutch Bros continues to be hitting on all cylinders, but the best could still be ahead for the company. Mobile ordering is still in its early days, while food is in its infancy. Both are seeing good early traction and should be solid growth drivers in the coming years. Meanwhile, the company has a huge expansion opportunity in front of it. Its small-shop, drive-thru model is cost-efficient, allowing it a quick payback period. It's also generating solid operating cash flow, allowing it to self-fund its store expansion without having to take on debt. Despite their size, the company's shops produce average annual sales of more than $2 million (average unit volume), so the opportunity is quite large. As such, I don't think it's too late for long-term investors to own shares of Dutch Bros, as it remains one of the best growth stocks in the restaurant space. Should you buy stock in Dutch Bros right now? Before you buy stock in Dutch Bros, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Dutch Bros wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,119,863!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025 Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Dutch Bros. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Dutch Bros Shares Soar on Outlook. Is It Too Late to Buy the Stock? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Gizmodo
This Monstrosity Gives Your Laptop Three Massive Monitors, but You'll Hate Looking at It
I'm sitting in a coffee shop in front of four monitors. One of those screens is just my laptop, a very normal thing to have a cuppa joe next to. The other three are the portable displays of the Aura Triple Aero 15.6-inch Pro Max, a monumental contraption of aluminum and matte glass that's looming over my computer, giving off Mr. Universe vibes. Nobody seems to care about this very conspicuous tech monstrosity, and that's a blessing because with all of these screens in front of me, I just can't shake the feeling that I'm the Worst Person Here. 'Portable' triple-monitor accessories that give your laptop more pixels to work on spreadsheets or whatever multitasking you may require to boost your productivity aren't new. In recent years, cheap display command centers have been flooding social media as a life hack product. I thought it would be fun to take the Triple Aero out into the wild, both to test its tote-ability and to see how socially capable I am of using it in public. I don't know why I do these things to myself. Aura Triple Aero 15.6-inch Pro Max The Aura Triple Aero 15.6-inch Pro Max is a cool idea to add three screens to a laptop, but it's hampered by bad displays and a too-high price. Pros Cons This setup has appeal, especially if, like me, you find the cramped confines of a laptop display unworkable, but sitting in the same room for hours and hours, every day, with your dedicated multi-monitor setup feels a little like hell to you. My usual solution for working away from home is to use my 11-inch iPad Pro as a wireless external display. It's not ideal, and I always wonder if I can have it both ways. The Triple Aero features three 15.6-inch, 1080p IPS LCD displays on a folding, height-adjustable stand that put it high enough for me to work with proper computer posture instead of hunched over like a laptop gremlin. The displays are just bright enough that I didn't have trouble viewing them in a window-filled coffee shop, but you might have trouble seeing if, on a very bright day, one of those windows is behind the Triple Aero. The display casings and stand are black and made of aluminum. There are technically speakers, but they're harsh and tinny, and you should not use them. On the bottom edge of the middle display, you'll find two USB-C ports: one to power the screens and the other to accept video from your laptop, as well as give it passthrough power. There are also three Micro HDMI ports, each corresponding to one of the displays, useful if you want to connect multiple devices rather than just a single computer. The Triple Aero comes with a 65W power adapter that generously features two USB-C ports and a single USB-A port. This isn't a pretty device, but that's not really the point, is it? To buy something like the Triple Aero is to admit that all you're after is a hojillion displays. Given its utilitarian vibe, it's irritating to me that, presumably for misguided aesthetic reasons, Aura put its port labels on the back of the Triple Aero instead of the front. I don't care about that in a stationary desk monitor that I'm only ever going to hook up once, but the Triple Aero is meant to travel, and it's too unwieldy to spin around to make sure I'm plugging things into the proper ports, so you have to lean around back to see which one is which. Aura also doesn't label the buttons, leaving you to figure out how to adjust the monitor's internal settings. I guess I could label everything myself with a strip of tape and a Sharpie, or Aura could just put the labels on the front! Actually using the Triple Aero is a mixed bag, and I don't just mean because it feels weird to set it up in public if that's what you choose to do with it. On one hand, the matte finish IPS displays keep a fairly consistent image, even from broad viewing angles. But on the other, they're better for spreadsheets and text documents than they are for, say, Oppenheimer. And they're not even great for that if the software you're working with calls for a monitor with very good color separation—for instance, in macOS, I had a hard time telling between the gray of an active Safari window and the slightly lighter gray of an inactive one. As a result, I just kept trying to type in windows I thought were in the foreground and weren't. It's not just the color reproduction that makes the Triple Aero unsuitable for more than casual content consumption. Driving the displays requires software—in this case, SiliconMotion's InstantView—that essentially screen-records virtual displays on your computer, compresses the video for transmission over USB-C, then hardware-decodes it inside the Triple Aero. This is fine for basic tasks, but it takes a decent chunk of CPU power to run, and I've never met a version of it that doesn't needle you with small bugs. It can take a few tries plugging it in before your computer recognizes it; you may have to rearrange the displays every few tries so your Mac actually knows which is which; the display can lag, with your mouse disappearing and reappearing at random. That last one is especially common if you try to watch a high-bitrate movie or play a video game. (Death Stranding was unplayable when I tried.) Maybe that's all fine if you're only using the Triple Aero occasionally, but it immediately reminded me why I gave up using similar tech to add dual display support to my old M1 iMac after just a few weeks. You won't get these problems if you only use the Triple Aero's three Micro HDMI ports, but you'd need a computer that supports that many external displays, which many Apple silicon-equipped Macs do not, along with a Thunderbolt dock that sports three HDMI outputs—and again, many do not. The Triple Aero, with its elaborate form factor, has its perks. I like the foldable side displays, and my neck was grateful for its height. And since you can use the HDMI ports individually, you and two others can each have an external display. Also, I bet having the displays folded back into a triangle would also be a very fun way to game with friends, old-timey LAN party-style. I didn't get to try that, but I feel it in my bones—show me a few people, a Triple Aero, and three Nintendo Switches (or Switch 2s) equipped with some flavor of Mario Kart, and I'll show you a good time. Also in the plus column, the Triple Aero isn't overly jiggly even with two displays hanging way off its stand. The contraption folds down to about the size of a large gaming laptop, with the stand pulling double duty as a suitcase-style handle. That said, you'll need to get creative to transport the 7-pound unit, as it's got the wrong proportions for a laptop case and the box it ships in is too big to casually toss into a backpack. Aura does sell a felt sleeve and a zippable soft case that each accommodate the Triple Aero, but without a hard case I would still worry about pointed impacts to one of the displays, which faces outwardly when folded for travel. At $699, the Aura Triple Aero 15.6-inch Pro Max falls squarely in the category of things I think would be very handy to have, but would never buy for myself. I just can't see paying as much or more than a decent 4K portable monitor like the Espresso Pro, which is priced the same but is far more premium-feeling, judging by reviews praising its image quality and neat iPad-like modularity. Sure, you lose overall screen real estate with the Espresso, but it sounds like a much more pleasant experience, and you don't have to screw around with drivers that force external display support that your laptop's hardware potentially doesn't do natively. And it probably feels a lot less awkward to use in public.
Independent Singapore
28-07-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
'When did landlords start controlling our future?'
SINGAPORE: It began as a simple walk past a local coffee shop, something thousands of Singaporeans do daily. But for one Redditor, what she saw gave pause: five kiosks closed forever, including a zi char stall. 'I've never seen a zi char stall close shop before,' she wrote. Curious, she approached the aunties at the drinks stall. The reason for the closing? Over-the-top rental fees. That scene triggered an unfathomable image of something that's been gently tiptoeing up on us — are property-owners, landlords, and the ecosystem around them, gradually eating away at the soul of Singapore's local food landscape? A zi char casualty Zi char stalls — those busy, wok-heated corners of the coffee shop providing everything from sambal kangkong to sweet and sour pork — are a keystone of Singapore's gastronomic culture. Unlike fashionable cafés and snack bars, these stalls depend on constant footfall and unchanging budgets to survive. When one stall closes, it's not just a business loss; it's the termination of a collective local experience. Economics or exploitation? 'Landlords will only reduce rent when they feel the pain of vacancy,' one commenter wrote. 'Otherwise, they'll just keep squeezing. Simple economics.' It's a reasoning entrenched in free-market judgment — owners charge what the market can tolerate, but for many, it feels not so much about economics but more like manipulation or exploitation. Others cited a broader issue — real estate representatives and the commission-based inducement system. One netizen specifically mentioned PropNex, claiming that its supremacy results in a race to the top in rental pricing. 'I know an agent who failed in his MNC career,' the commenter shared. 'Now he owns multiple properties, flips shophouses, and flaunts his S$100K watches on Instagram. Just an average guy with anger issues who got rich gaming the system.' Who's really to blame? The blame game didn't stop at landlords and agents. Another Redditor blamed civil servants for letting HDB coffeehouses be sold at exorbitant prices in the first place, igniting a domino effect. Still, others believed it was a cultural failure: 'Mostly just greedy, want-to-get-rich, self-centered thinking.' And possibly that's the core of the problem. When returns outdo public good, the fatalities aren't just zi char kiosks, but people's small daily luxuries, communal spaces, and people's shared identity. A system under strain This isn't about wistfulness. It's about whether the current system still has space for tiny businesses to flourish. When a modest zi char stall can no longer continue to exist in a neighbourhood coffee shop, it's a threatening sign—not just for vendors, but for everyone. Because if even the wok rulers are conking out and doing the exit, who's next? Maybe it's time people ask not just what is closing, but why, and what kind of Singapore do Singaporeans want to preserve for future generations.
