Astons, the land of atas level western food at cheap prices, reportedly closed temporarily on 14 Apr 2020.
And when PM Lee said CB will be extended to 1 June 2020, you’re crying inside, wondering if Aston’s going to extend their hiatus too.
Well, if you’re an Aston’s fan, I’ve got some good news for you, provided you stay in the east, of course.
1 Astons Outlet Now Open for Takeaway as Remaining Outlets Remain Closed
One of Astons’ many outlets is back up and running again and it’s located at 119 East Coast Road, operating from 11am to 7.30pm daily.
The outlet is only available for takeaway services and given how we’re not allowed to leave our immediate areas, only the easties get to enjoy Astons again.
And for those who are hoping this isn’t the only outlet open, they dash your hopes with this single sentence:
p/s: all other outlets will be closed until after the circuit breaker.
Special Combo Sets Up For Grabs
With prices starting from $48, their special combo sets can feed 3 to 4 pax.
Don’t have three to four people in the house? You can check out their takeaway menu which has all of your favourite items:
You can call them at 6247 7857 for enquiries and orders.
For special combo sets, you’ll have to call one hour in advance.
Why No Delivery?
Grab has the islandwide delivery option, and there are at least three food delivery services out there.
So why isn’t Astons doing delivery?
Like my colleague says, that’s because of food delivery profits.
The commission ranges from 30% to 35% of each order. In other words, if you’ve just ordered 2 packs of chicken rice from your favourite chicken rice stall, the hawker’s just getting back about $6.50.
The authorities have stepped in to help by offering to pay 5% of the commission, which will reduce the commission rate to 25% to 30%.
But of course that’s still a steep amount, given that the profit margin for food isn’t high—which is one of the key reasons why you don’t see hawkers in food delivery platform. In fact, over in the US, people are suing food delivery companies for the high commission.
A F&B owner in Singapore has done the maths for you:
And someone turned it into a nifty infographic:
To put it simply, eateries that remain open might not be making money—for all you know, they could be losing money when they stay open.
