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Without a doubt, one of the industries hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic is the food and beverage sector. People are afraid to eat out, resulting in a detrimental fall in business for restaurants and they’ve either been forced to close down or layoff many workers just to stay afloat. In the spirit of supporting each other as a community, Barbary Coast has introduced a new late-night industry supper initiative, offering meals to Singapore’s hospitality workers.
Inspired by the district in San Francisco of the same name during the mid-1800s, Barbary Coast is a dual-concept bar spanning two floors of three historic shophouses in Boat Quay. Opened by co-owners Michael Callahan and Celia Schoonraad, Barbary Coast features two very different types of bars that aim to encapsulate the essence of the coast—Deadfall and Barbary Coast Ballroom.
This initiative was started by Michael and Celia, who saw “restaurants across the island… cut(ting) back on staff meals and shifts due to a revenue crunch” and they wanted to “offer the wider community a place to eat that was paid for by another, no questions asked”. Once people started hearing about it, the Supper Initiative received numerous contributions from private donors over the next few days.
Eventually, the pledged donations were able to cover nearly 600 plates that were initially priced at S$7nett, and the Supper Initiative can now provide 20 plates per night free of charge for 30 days of operation!
This initiative applies to all hospitality workers—anyone in the food and beverage industry from any restaurant, cafe, bar or hotel, including everyone from front-of-house to back-of-house, cleaners and office managers.
Supper will be available every Tuesday through Saturday from 1am until closing time (2am on Tuesday and Wednesday, 3am on Thursdays to Saturdays). In order to reserve a free plate, the first 20 people can RSVP via Whatsapp (+65 8869 4798) after seeing the plate of the day on Barbary Coast’s bartender chat and Instagram story.
Besides this late-night industry supper initiative, Barbary Coast will still remain open to the general public and have implemented new safety and hygiene measures on top of adhering to government regulations.
It’s so refreshing to see all the different ways that restaurants in the F&B sector are supporting each other through this tough time and hopefully more restaurants will follow in the footsteps of Barbary Coast’s Supper Initiative. To all our dedicated hospitality workers, thank you and please continue to press on!
Dates & Times: Available every Tues – Sat from 1am until closing time (2am on Tues and Wed, 3am on Thurs to Sat) for all hospitality workers
Price: First 20 people who RSVP via Whatsapp (+65 8869 4798) get free plates, if not S$7nett
