Biscuit King, the Upper Thomson shop famous for iced gem biscuits and childhood sweets, will close on 31 January 2027, owner Benny Ong told The Straits Times after a handwritten notice drew long queues of nostalgic customers.
The shop at 130 Casuarina Road registered as Biscuit King in 2008 but kept bulk jars, pick-up sticks, and butterfly crackers that newer supermarkets rarely stock. A Facebook post in the Can Eat! SG group on 7 November spread the closure date, prompting weekend visits from families photographing paper bags of lemon puffs.
Rising costs behind the shutters
Ong cited three pressures: wholesale biscuit prices climbing again after years of gradual increases, a supplier warning that plastic bag and container costs could rise more than 30 per cent in 2026, and a landlord preparing to sell the shophouse, which likely means higher rent under a new owner. He ruled out relocating or shifting fully online, saying manpower shortages already forced the website to pause mail orders.
The closure follows other nostalgic food exits in Singapore, including pasar malam staples retiring after decades. Unlike chain bakeries, Biscuit King mixes imports with Malaysian factory stock; regional supply shocks therefore hit the margin directly.
What regulars are buying
Visitors this week reported stocking iced gems, eyeglass chocolate candies, and Old Maid card decks while shelves last. Opening hours remain 11am to 10pm Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays, giving households a 15-month runway to clear favourites.
Food bloggers noted the shop's telephone line still answers for bulk orders when staff are available, but the online store banner warns of temporary closure due to staffing gaps—an early signal that the business was thinning before the formal notice.
Heartland retail reality
Casuarina Road sits between landed estates and older flats, a catchment that valued walk-in browsing. As delivery apps push packaged snacks, the tactile experience of scooping biscuits by weight became the differentiator. Without it, the store competes on price alone against supermarkets running loss leaders.
Heritage traders elsewhere have tried pop-up collaborations or shortened weeks; Ong's decision to exit entirely suggests margins could not fund both rent and labour at service levels loyal customers expect.
After January 2027
No successor tenant has been announced. Collectors hunting nostalgic packaging may see secondary-market listings, but the shop's handwritten price labels and mixed-language banter will disappear with the lease. For now, the story is arithmetic: a 44-year institution closing because biscuit inflation and packaging costs met a landlord sale, not because demand vanished overnight.