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
“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.”
