The Vault to move out amidst Circular Road shake-ups

The bistro lounge in Circular Road will revamp and relocate in the first quarter of next year

The Vault (above), which is in Circular Road, is moving out to make space for six food and beverage concepts. -- PHOTO: LIMITED EDITION CONCEPTS
The Vault (above), which is in Circular Road, is moving out to make space for six food and beverage concepts. -- PHOTO: LIMITED EDITION CONCEPTS

Bistro lounge The Vault in Circular Road is moving once again to make way for an Italian restaurant, which, along with five other food and beverage concepts, will open by December.

The Vault, which moved from its home in South Bridge Road to Circular Road late last year, will vacate its premises this month, revamp and open in a new location in the first quarter of next year.

Mr Godwin Pereira, director and co-founder of lifestyle group Limited Edition Concepts, which runs The Vault, says: "There has been really strong demand for the four shophouse units The Vault occupies since we started the project and it eventually became too hard to resist.

"We decided to pass it to someone else."

Last October, the group signed an $8 million deal to take over the master lease of 28 shophouse units in the 400m-long street.

Aside from the Italian restaurant, an izakaya, an American burger joint, a Korean restaurant, a live music venue and sports bar and a gelateria will also open at Circular Road.

Italian dining concept Marco Marco, operated by Doodle Stop, will take over the premises of The Vault this month and open in November. The company also runs four other Marco Marco outlets here.

Its managing director, Mr Friedrich Hamker, says the Circular Road outlet will be the chain's flagship, occupying about 2,000 sq ft.

Like the others, it will serve Italian staples such as panini, pasta and pizza, but will also offer meat and fish dishes in the evenings.

He says: "We believe Circular Road has the potential to become one of the most vibrant streets in Singapore. It's located right in front of the CBD but still has a laid back atmosphere."

The new establishments are part of Limited Edition Concepts' long-term plans to rejuvenate the once seedy nightlife district.

The transformation of Circular Road began late last year, when it moved The Vault to Circular Road as an anchor outlet, taking up four shophouse units.

Soon afterwards, boutique nightclub Chateaux opened in March and French creperie and wine bar Le Comptoir followed suit in April.

With the six new food and beverage outlets along with Chateaux and Le Comptoir, more than half of the available units will be occupied since Limited Edition Concepts announced the changes to the area, located just behind Boat Quay.

"The outlets will open progressively from this month to December in time for the festive season. These will give fun-seekers greater access to a variety of choices in Singapore's dynamic lifestyle and F&B scene," says Mr Pereira.

Founded in 2011, the Singapore-based lifestyle group, which also owns nightclub Club Kyo in Cecil Street, is set to expand to Kuala Lumpur in the third quarter of next year by opening some nightlife spots.

Circular Road now draws an average of more than 20,000 visitors a week.

The rise in foot traffic is also due to an initiative by non-profit group Singapore River One to turn a 250m stretch of Circular Road into a pedestrian- only street from 6pm to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

"We want to find a new identity for the area. We don't want it to be a place for loud street parties but create more of a market vibe where the older crowd can go to as well," adds Mr Pereira.

gurveenk@sph.com.sg

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