Toa Payoh baker selling S$1 buns calls on patrons to leave some for elderly customers after business surged
Customers clamoured to buy the cheap buns, causing some regular customers being unable to purchase them.Amber Tay |
A 73-year-old baker who has been selling old-school buns at S$1 for 16 years in Toa Payoh has called on his customers to leave some bread for low-income elderly residents in the vicinity.
The call follows an upsurge in business due to news reports about the baker, whose name is Fu Jinfeng (transliteration from Mandarin), and his prices, Shin Min Daily News reported.
Bread selling out earlier than usual, leaving regular customers frustrated
Fu opens his store from 4am to 8am.
Citing Dec. 3 as an example, Fu said the bread, which is usually sold out by 8am, was sold out at 6:15am that day.
At least one customer, who did not live in Toa Payoh, bought 20 packs of his bread, the baker added.
Many of his usual elderly customers, who only buy one to two packs at a time were left disappointed, he said.
A 70-year-old retiree also told Shin Min that he saw around 40 to 50 elderly who were unable to purchase the bread due to it being sold out.
The retiree claimed that the cheap bread served as an affordable option.
A lot of the elderly live in nearby rental housing units.
When a reporter from Shin Min visited the bakery on the morning of Dec. 5, they observed that half of the bread had already been sold out by 5:40am.
In addition, there were "well-dressed customers" who drove there to buy about 10 packs of bread.
The remaining half was eventually sold out by about 6:40am.
Some 20 minutes later, an elderly man with mobility issues arrived at the bakery, but was reportedly left frustrated as he was unable to make any purchases.
Fu said that while he is grateful for the business and does not wish to set any purchase restrictions, he hopes that customers will remember to consider the low-income elderly who may only be able to afford such prices.
Decreased his prices after moving into Toa Payoh
Fu said that prior to moving his bakery into Toa Payoh, he sold his bread for S$1.20 at Upper Thomson.
Upon moving to Toa Payoh, he decided to decrease his price as he wanted to ensure that the low-income elderly living nearby were able to afford his bread.
"Some customers have asked me to increase the price, but there are elderly residents who cannot even afford to pay S$1 and I simply accept a few cents from them," he said.
Fu told Shin Min that the cost of operating his bakery is at least S$3,000 a month.
However, the tens of dollars he makes every day is enough for his expenses and he does not need that much money when he advances in age, he said.
Fu also said that while he has three sons, all of them have their own careers and he does not want them to take over the business.
