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When the current recession hit Singapore last year, revenue at the Seafood Paradise restaurant at the Singapore Flyer plunged by as much as half.
But that did not stop the Chinese restaurant chain from expanding its operations.
By the end of this year, the Paradise Group will have opened four new restaurants, bringing its total to 10.
Among the four is its flagship restaurant at Orchard Ion, a $4 million investment for the company.
Speaking from Guangzhou, China, where he was procuring customised chinaware for the flagship restaurant, managing director Eldwin Chua, 31, said the downturn took his company by surprise.
'But we did not panic. We did our best to cut costs wherever we could. We negotiated for rental discounts with our landlords and asked our suppliers for better prices,' he said.
So far, the company has managed to get a rental rebate for one restaurant and is getting lower prices from its suppliers.
As a result of its efforts, the Paradise restaurants continue to do well despite the bleak economy.
The business has humble beginnings.
Mr Chua's first eatery was a zi char stall at a coffee shop in Defu Lane. That was 11 years ago.
Today, he has more than 200 employees working in his six restaurants, which are famous for their seafood dishes.
He is confident his four new restaurants will do just as well.
For one thing, the company is already benefiting from lower food costs.
Prices of the steak, rack of lamb and foie gras which it orders from Europe are now 20 per cent lower.
He said: 'Our company is still small. We still need to create a presence. With more outlets, hopefully we can achieve that.'
Nur Dianah Suhaimi
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
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