However for my first branch, with the standing and eating concept, it would not have worked in Orchard because people there are used to the big restaurants which have lots of seats. It doesn’t have the same “feel” as Raffles Place where people need to eat and go back to work.

Ultimately it would also have been about the initial investment. Rent in Orchard Road is very expensive – say 50,000 SGD for a 1,000 square foot space (I’m estimating). Since you have to pay a security deposit of 3 months, that’s 150,000 SGD gone before you have even started paying for any renovations or additional setup costs. Of course they can charge that high rent because of all the folks in the area, but for me it wasn’t an option.