Long queues formed outside Lim Chee Guan's Chinatown and Jewel Changi Airport outlets yesterday as shoppers rushed to do some last-minute shopping for bak kwa.
Some joined the queues as early as 8am, although the outlets open after 9am.
Lim Chee Guan said it opened its stores on Monday to walk-in customers after all its barbecued products were sold out online, and will continue to sell its bak kwa until today, or while stocks last.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for the company said yesterday that it had received requests from customers to produce more bak kwa after its online orders closed.
The heritage brand said last month it was moving online for its Chinese New Year sales for the first time to ensure the safety of its customers.
In a Facebook post on Monday, the bak kwa chain reminded customers to observe safe distancing measures and wear their masks at all times while queueing.
When The Straits Times visited Lim Chee Guan's flagship store in New Bridge Road yesterday morning, there were 75 people queueing to buy bak kwa.
With many customers having bought their bak kwa online earlier, the queues were shorter than the ones in previous years, when hundreds of people would queue outside the stores, with some waiting in line for five hours.
Yesterday morning, shoppers at the New Bridge Road outlet maintained a 1m distance from one another, while staff handed out stools to seniors so they could sit down while waiting for their turn.
For Ms Annie Chng, 65, word of mouth brought her to Lim Chee Guan despite the hot sun and snaking queues. "I have never tried this bak kwa but my friends in their 50s and 60s say it is good," said Ms Chng, who works part-time at a Singapore Pools outlet.
At the People's Park Complex outlet, engineer Lim Choon Wei, 39, began queueing at 9.30am although the store opens at 10am.
On why he did not purchase from other bak kwa stores in the vicinity, Mr Lim said: "My wife asked me to buy this brand. This one is famous, a lot of people share it on Facebook."
Over at Jewel Changi Airport, queues began forming at 8am and there were 80 people in line when ST visited.
Air stewardess Vicky Wee, 61, was supposed to board a plane for Bangkok but made a beeline for the outlet once she was told the flight was cancelled due to technical difficulties.
"It's really a blessing. I thought I would have to forgo my Lim Chee Guan bak kwa this year," she said.
The Ion Orchard outlet saw shorter queues - there were around 18 people waiting in line at noon. It took pre-orders for bak kwa in the morning and started selling to walk-in customers at 6pm.
When ST visited the outlet a second time at about 7.30pm, it was serving three customers and there were only around 10 pre-packed packets of bak kwa left.
The price of its signature sliced pork bak kwa is $68 per kg. A staff member told ST the meats were going for $56 earlier last month.
There is a limit to how much shoppers can purchase. At the New Bridge Road outlet, shoppers could buy up to 50kg per order. The limit was 20kg per order at the People's Park Complex outlet and 5kg at both Jewel Changi Airport and Ion Orchard.
"Certain outlets are smaller in size and hence they would not be able to stock as much of the product," said the Lim Chee Guan spokesman.
In a Facebook post, Lim Chee Guan thanked its customers for the "enormous amount of support and requests" it has received. It added that all of its outlets will be closed from tomorrow to Saturday.
