SINGAPORE - As the five-person dining rule continues to be the norm until further notice, a ground-up initiative Hi5SG hopes to get people to support the local food and beverage industry with attractive dine-in and delivery deals.
These dining experiences are themed around the number five - whether it is a five-course fine-dining meal ($95++) at one-Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Braci, or a discovery flight of of five American whiskeys ($50) at cocktail bar The Secret Mermaid.
Other deals include $55 set meals and 55 per cent discounts, in a bid to draw customers back to restaurants or help them discover new ones.
The promotions by homegrown eateries, which kicked off in September and run till Jan 31, can be found at this website.
This is a spin-off of the #savefnbsg movement that saw more than 600 restaurant operators banding together during the pandemic, and also part of the Singapore Rediscovers movement, which aims to give local lifestyle and tourism firms a much-needed boost with value-for-money promotions and packages for Singapore residents.
While the deals span restaurants across the island, many are in the Central Business District (CBD), among the worst-hit areas for F&B businesses - because of the lack of tourists and the greatly reduced office crowd.
Hi5SG co-founder Lyla Lin, 32, who is also the co-founder of communications agency Loop PR, says: "Fine-dining in the CBD has been heavily hit. Tourists will not come in the foreseeable future and people are not rushing back to offices as well."
Restaurateur Beppe de Vito of the ilLido Group, which owns Braci in Boat Quay, says the Hi5SG campaign has been effective so far in bringing back customers - both old and new - with a 25 per cent increase in footfall at the restaurant.
He notes that its $95 five-course set menu has had 135 redemptions in the past five weeks since the campaign started.
"We have also seen an increase of 20 per cent for the average spend and that almost 10 per cent of patrons who make a reservation at our restaurants via Hi5SG are not from our usual crowd," he adds.
"Our Hi5SG experiences have been doing very well and given how accessible the promotion is, more new diners are giving fine dining a try, when they wouldn't normally."
Participating establishments have also pledged part of their proceeds to Hi5SG's official beneficiary =DREAMS, an intensive educational programme for underprivileged children by the South Central Community Family Service Centre.
It provides after-school enrichment and holistic developmental support for children from low-income families in Housing Board rental flats to prepare them for tertiary education.
Hi5SG aims to raise a total of $300,000 for =DREAMS.
