Several Kith Cafe outlets shut in recent months, with 2 stores still operating
Aqil Hamzah
The Straits Times
Jan 5, 2026
Several Kith Cafe stores have shut their doors in recent months, with the latest being its West Coast outlet, which closed on Jan 5, months after its Millenia Walk one shut in October 2025.
At its peak, the home-grown cafe brand had 10 outlets, according to its Facebook account.
Currently, two outlets – in Marina Square and New Bahru, a lifestyle development in River Valley – are still in operation. Both are collaborations with the edutainment children's park brand Kiztopia.
While Kith Cafe's Instagram account lists four locations, the Punggol outlet has closed permanently, founder Jane Hia told The Straits Times by phone on Jan 5.
Ms Hia said operations at Kith Cafe's Spottiswoode outlet in Tanjong Pagar, which is listed as temporarily closed on Google, have been paused because of a lull in customer traffic.
She added that her team is exploring the possibility of refreshing the store concept.
The outlet was renovated in June 2025 and reopened the following month.
Ms Hia said the franchisee operating the West Coast outlet had opted to terminate it for personal reasons.
Franchise owner Andy Lim had been open about the challenges of running a food and beverage outlet, stating in a July 2025 social media post that he had lost about $70,000 to $90,000 within a year of operating the cafe.
The former Republic of Singapore Air Force regular said in an interview with Christian online publication Salt&Light that he used $140,000 of his savings to take over the franchise, despite having no business experience. First opened in 2009, Kith Cafe began in the Robertson Quay area, serving coffee priced between local brews and those from international chains.
A second outlet was opened at the former Park Mall in 2012, with all-day menus introduced gradually.
When asked about Kith Cafe's shrinking presence, Ms Hia said the F&B industry is highly dynamic, and this means that the brand has to adapt quickly.
In an August 2025 report in The Business Times, she said she planned to grow the business-to-business side of the brand.
She added that she hoped to have more tie-ups to sell its cookies at corporate and large-scale events, as well as increase production.
"This era for cafes is harder than Covid-19. It's not enough to be trendy or Instagrammable. You have to move fast and keep evolving," she said then.
- Additional reporting by Ang Qing
