‘I grew up with Marina Square and hope to move my store back’: Singapura Nanyang Coffee owner

Singapura Nanyang Coffee owner Fong Jun Jie, 39, at his store in Marina Square, which opened in April 2025.

Published Sep 11, 2026, 05:00 PM

Updated Sep 11, 2026, 05:53 PM

Singapura Nanyang Coffee owner Fong Jun Jie cherishes his lifelong connection to Marina Square and plans to return after its 2027 closure for redevelopment.

Marina Square will close in March 2027 for a major revamp, adding luxury homes, serviced apartments, offices, and a hotel, with completion expected in 2031.

Shoppers express mixed emotions; many value the mall for family activities and memories, while some are less attached and unaffected by the closure.

SINGAPORE – Singapura Nanyang Coffee will be one of the many shops and restaurants moving out when Marina Square shutters for renovations in March 2027.

But for the coffee shop’s owner, Fong Jun Jie, there is only one Marina Square.

He remembers playing at the mall’s big spiral staircase when he was about five years old in the 1990s. While the staircase no longer exists, he has fond memories of his parents waiting at the bottom of the stairs for him.

“I also played at an arcade this mall used to have,” said Fong, 39. “Later on, in my teenage years, I would come here with my secondary school friends to hang out as well.”

Marina Square shopping centre will close on March 31, 2027 .

The redevelopment, slated for completion in 2031, will not only revamp the four-storey mall but also add luxury homes, serviced apartments, offices and a new 304-key hotel to the site, Marina Square owner Singapore Land Group (SingLand) announced on Sept 1.

Fong recalled that Marina Square opened in 1986, shortly before he was born.

“Back when I was young, it was the cool new place to go to,” said Fong, who took over Singapura Nanyang Coffee from its previous owner in June 2025. The Marina Square store – the retro-style coffee shop’s only outlet – opened in April 2025.

“My memories of the mall were a key reason to take over this coffee shop.”

Fong, who previously worked in a bank, said “ it feels like I’ve grown up with the mall”, and he still goes there to dine with his parents and wife.

While his team had been aware of the broader redevelopment plans from the news, “the timing and short notice came as a surprise”.

Opening in a new location also requires significant capital costs for a small business like his, he said.

Fong hopes to relocate his coffee shop to somewhere nearby.

Singapura Nanyang Coffee founder Fong Jun Jie took over the retro-style coffee shop at Marina Square from its previous owner in June 2025. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Singapura Nanyang Coffee founder Fong Jun Jie took over the retro-style coffee shop at Marina Square from its previous owner in June 2025.

“If we want to keep our regular customers, then we have to be somewhere in the same area. I think most shop owners here have the same sentiment. Because if I moved to somewhere like in the Orchard (Road) area, I will need time to build up my regular customer base all over again.”

He added: “Having been attached to Marina Square as a shopper growing up and now as a business owner, I am sad to see the mall close.

“At the same time, I am excited about the mall’s upcoming transformation plans and fully intend to return in 2031 after the renovation is complete if I’m able to.”

Shopper Poh Lijia, who has frequented the mall with her daughter for the past 10 years , said she was shocked to learn about its impending closure.

“We took my daughter to Pororo Park when she was about one year old. A couple of years ago, she had weekly art lessons at Marina Square, so we would go have a meal there and enjoy family time after her lessons,” said Poh, 43, who works in administration. Her daughter is now 11.

Some of her favourite memories include simple moments like having dessert there after her daughter’s lessons. “There used to be an ice cream shop in the mall, Oh My Cow, that my daughter really liked.”

Marina Square is also a great place to celebrate birthdays, Poh added, because of the large variety of child-friendly restaurants, such as hotpot restaurant Haidilao, Astons Steak and Salad, Kith Cafe, and fried chicken restaurant Chic-a-boo.

"We will definitely miss all these child-friendly activities that are under one roof. Now we have to find other places for children’s activities,” she said, adding that Suntec City is one of her other choices to take her daughter to as it has a big indoor playground.

“I’m sad that Marina Square is closing down because it is one of my favourite places in Singapore for family bonding activities,” said Poh’s daughter, Matilda.

But not everyone is quite as sentimental.

A shopper who wanted to be known only as Tang said she would not miss the mall, which she visits occasionally for K-pop and F1 events.

“Marina Square is also one of the places where you can catch a glimpse of F1 for free. I went there last year to hear the F1 engines and feel the atmosphere,” the 34-year-old analyst said.

“Other than that, I don’t visit the mall that much, so I don’t feel much about it closing down.”

Rosalind Ang is a business journalist who has been with The Straits Times since 2021. She covers e-commerce and stories on retail businesses.

新加坡南洋咖啡店老板方俊杰（39岁）在其位于滨海广场的店铺内，该店于2025年4月开业。

发布于2026年9月11日下午5:00

更新于2026年9月11日下午5:53

新加坡南洋咖啡的老板方俊杰珍视他与滨海广场的毕生情缘，并计划在滨海广场于 2027 年关闭重建后重返这里。

Marina Square 将于 2027 年 3 月关闭进行大规模改造，新增豪华住宅、服务式公寓、办公楼和酒店，预计将于 2031 年完工。

购物者们的心情各不相同；许多人珍视购物中心，因为它承载着家庭活动和美好回忆，而有些人则对购物中心的关闭并不在意，也没有受到影响。

新加坡——新加坡南洋咖啡将是滨海广场于 2027 年 3 月关闭进行翻新时搬迁的众多商店和餐馆之一。

但对于咖啡店老板方俊杰来说，滨海广场只有一个。

他记得大约五岁的时候，也就是上世纪90年代，经常在商场的大螺旋楼梯上玩耍。虽然那座楼梯现在已经不存在了，但他仍然对父母在楼梯底部等他的情景记忆犹新。

“我以前也常来这家商场的游戏厅玩，”39岁的方说。“后来，到了十几岁的时候，我也会和中学的朋友们来这里聚会。”

Marina Square购物中心将于2027年3月31日关闭。

滨海广场的所有者新加坡置地集团（SingLand）于9月1日宣布，该重建项目预计将于2031年完成，不仅将翻新这座四层购物中心，还将在该地块上增加豪华住宅、服务式公寓、办公室和一家拥有304间客房的新酒店。

方先生回忆说，滨海广场于 1986 年开业，就在他出生前不久。

“我年轻的时候，这里可是最酷的新去处，”方先生说道。他于2025年6月从前任老板手中接管了新加坡南洋咖啡。这家复古风格咖啡店在滨海广场的唯一一家分店于2025年4月开业。

“我对这家购物中心的回忆是我接手这家咖啡店的主要原因。”

曾在银行工作的方先生说：“感觉我好像是和商场一起长大的”，他现在仍然会和父母、妻子一起去那里吃饭。

虽然他的团队从新闻中了解到了更广泛的重建计划，但“时机和通知时间之短还是让他们感到意外”。

他还表示，对于像他这样的小企业来说，在新地点开店也需要大量的资金投入。

方先生希望将他的咖啡店搬迁到附近的地方。

新加坡南洋咖啡创始人方俊杰于2025年6月从原店主手中接管了位于滨海广场的这家复古风格咖啡店。（海峡时报摄影：KEVIN LIM）

新加坡南洋咖啡创始人方俊杰于 2025 年 6 月从前任店主手中接管了滨海广场的这家复古风格咖啡店。

“如果我们想留住老顾客，就必须留在原来的区域。我想这里大多数店主都有同样的想法。因为如果我搬到像乌节路那样的地方，我就需要时间重新建立我的老顾客群。”

他补充道：“我从小就是滨海广场的顾客，现在又在这里经营生意，看到商场关闭，我感到非常难过。”

“与此同时，我对商场即将进行的改造计划感到兴奋，如果条件允许，我完全打算在2031年翻新工程完成后回来。”

过去十年一直带着女儿光顾这家商场的顾客 Poh Lijia 表示，得知商场即将关闭的消息，她感到非常震惊。

“我女儿一岁左右的时候，我们就带她去波罗罗公园玩。几年前，她每周在滨海广场上美术课，所以我们会在她上完课后去那里吃饭，享受家庭时光。”43岁的Poh说道，她从事行政工作。她的女儿现在11岁了。

她最美好的回忆包括一些简单的时刻，比如女儿放学后在那里吃甜点。“以前商场里有一家叫‘Oh My Cow’的冰淇淋店，我女儿特别喜欢。”

Poh补充说，滨海广场也是庆祝生日的好地方，因为那里有很多适合儿童的餐厅，例如火锅店海底捞、Astons牛排沙拉店、Kith Cafe和炸鸡店Chic-a-boo。

“我们肯定会怀念这些集中在一个屋檐下的儿童友好型活动场所。现在我们得另找地方带孩子去玩了，”她说道，并补充说新达城是她带女儿去的另一个选择，因为那里有一个大型室内游乐场。

“我很伤心滨海广场要关闭了，因为它是我在新加坡最喜欢的家庭聚会场所之一，” Poh 的女儿 Matilda 说。

但并非每个人都那么感性。

一位只愿透露自己姓唐的顾客表示，她不会想念这家商场，她偶尔会来这里观看 K-pop 和 F1 赛事。

“滨海广场也是可以免费观看F1比赛的地方之一。我去年去过那里，听了F1引擎的轰鸣声，感受了现场气氛，”这位34岁的分析师说道。

“除此之外，我不太常去那家商场，所以它关门对我来说没什么影响。”

Rosalind Ang 是一位商业记者，自 2021 年起就职于《海峡时报》。她主要报道电子商务和零售业相关新闻。