Popular Arab Street eatery Fika Swedish Cafe And Bistro to close in August

The social media pages of Fika Swedish Cafe And Bistro announced on Tuesday (Aug 4) that the popular eatery will have its final day of service on Aug 14.

Popular eatery Fika Swedish Cafe And Bistro announced on Tuesday (Aug 4) that it will be closing its Arab Street spot on Aug 14. The news comes just as Fika celebrates its 17th anniversary this week.

In a post on its social media page, Fika Swedish Cafe And Bistro wrote: "Since opening in 2009, we’ve been honoured to be part of so many memories. Thank you for every visit, every meal, and every bit of support over the years.

"As we celebrate this milestone, we also share that Aug 14 will be our final day of service at Arab Street. If you’ve ever wanted one last plate of our Swedish meatballs or one last fika with us, we’d love to see you before we close."

The post added that the team is now "excited to focus" on growing its bakery offshoot Konditori, located on Bussorah Street.

CNA Lifestyle has reached out to Fika for comments.

Fika Swedish Cafe And Bistro was founded by Singaporean entrepreneur Tasneem Noor and her Swedish husband, Joakim Smidhagen. It specialises in Swedish food made using halal ingredients, and is well-loved for its signature meatballs.

In a previous interview with CNA Luxury, Tasneem said that the cafe was born out of her husband's homesickness.

"We soon realised that there was no authentic Swedish food here and on top of that, no halal Swedish food," she said at the time. "So we thought that it would be a great idea to introduce Singaporeans to the cuisine."

The news of Fika’s closure comes amid a string of shutdowns in the vicinity, including Warong Nasi Pariaman, which closed in January this year.

A report by CNA noted that rent prices have surged in the Kampong Glam area, with several tenants in Haji Lane reporting that their rents jumped from around S$3,000 (US$2,340) to close to S$10,000 over the past few years.