Merely Ice Cream to close both outlets after 11 years of business

SINGAPORE – Local ice cream brand Merely is calling it quits after 11 years – its outlet in Our Tampines Hub will serve its final scoops this Sunday, while its original outlet at Sunshine Plaza in Bencoolen will operate until end-August, when its lease expires.

The brand’s owner, Mr Tham Ying Wai, told The Straits Times that the Tampines outlet will be shuttered as he was outbid in a tender for the premises.

Mr Tham, 41, said: “Our renewal for a new lease term is subject to a public tender. Unfortunately, another company placed a higher bid and was awarded the lease of the unit.

“The result was made known to us with only about five weeks to the end of our lease. This left us with a week to operate as we have to scramble to sell our existing equipment and also arrange for reinstatement of the unit.”

The decision to close down the Bencoolen outlet, meanwhile, was made because of rising costs and decreased post-Covid-19 footfall.

Mr Tham said: “Covid-19 was a tough and an unprecedented event. During the circuit breaker (period), the patronage of our supporters who rallied and made orders to deliver ice cream for themselves and their loved ones kept us afloat financially and gave us motivation to plough on amidst the dark days.”

More recently, he pointed out, escalating costs for energy and ingredients had reached “eye-watering” levels.

“Our energy costs have more than doubled since late 2021 as we are heavily reliant on electricity to power our freezers and chillers,” he said.

News of the brand’s closing drew reactions from some loyal customers, such as marketing professional Syarifah Ma’rian.

The 27-year-old said that the Sunshine Plaza outlet was a refuge for her when she was studying at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

“Merely was a go-to stress-release and safe space for me and my friends to get away from school projects,” said Ms Syarifah.

“(It) was affordable for students like us as one portion of waffles and a scoop of ice cream was enough to make two tummies happy.” 

Ms Carla Castle, a final-year arts management student at Lasalle College of the Arts, said the closures were sad news for her, given the lack of small local “one-off” stores such as Merely.

“The atmosphere was just so simple and cosy, there was something about the space that always drew my friends and me to have insightful conversations there,” the 26-year-old said.

“It’s one of those places that aren’t huge or viral online, (but) smaller places like Merely’s have their charms and helped add character to the area.”

Mr Tham said he had to learn on the job after leaving his banking job and entering the food and beverage industry in 2012 without any prior experience.

He said: “Every mistake was a valuable lesson and thinking back, it is an amazing feat to survive for 11 years with our meagre resources.”

“Given another shot, we probably would have focused on expansion earlier when we had the momentum… but I’m glad I took this step and made many friends. Most importantly, I met my wife here at Merely.”