Softsrve closing shop, reaches out to Malaysians for help
Battling the heat is something that Malaysians all struggle with on the daily. But that’s less of an issue now during the COVID-19 pandemic, as our spur-of-the-moment excursions have whittled down in frequency, with most of us staying at home as a safety precaution.
But this staying-at-home thing means that businesses now have to contend and struggle with less foot traffic. Not too long ago, we saw the closure of some bubble tea shops, and the latest casualty is Softsrve, a well-known dessert joint in KL. Along with an announcement of their store’s imminent closure on Facebook, they reached out to Malaysians to support them as they aim to sell 1,650 pints of ice cream to help cover the costs of moving out after a long fight to stay afloat throughout the MCO.
Over a thousand pints of ice cream has to be sold
Softsrve made the announcement to their over-25,000 followers in a lengthy Facebook post on 24th November 2020. They began the post by stating that they will be closing shop in Plaza Arkadia, Desa Park City, with their last day of operations on 13th December 2020.
A snippet of Softsrve’s announcement of their closure on Facebook
Image credit: Softsrve
For those who have not heard of Softsrve, they are a homegrown dessert spot specialising in artisanal soft serve that comes in refreshing flavours such as Mango Passion Yoghurt (RM35/473ml) and Strawberry Yoghurt (RM35/473ml). They also serve dessert waffles and speciality coffee, and sells party supplies from Brrrloon in their cosy store.
But as soft serve is pretty hard to deliver, even with plenty of food delivery services available in Malaysia, Softsrve found themselves unable to reach out to their regular customers staying at home during the MCO. This left them with “zero sales for the first few weeks” of the MCO, as mentioned in their Facebook post.
Softsrve is known for their decadent soft serves
Image credit: @withjslyw
They managed to keep afloat by coming up with HardHard Ice Cream, a frozen version of their speciality soft serve. This proved to be more delivery-friendly, with orders coming in from different parts of KL. But the recent CMCO in place across states since 14th October – with strict guidelines such as no interstate travel – impacted them badly, as they were unable to sell enough ice crem to cover their rental costs once again.
In an interview with The Edge, the current owner of the dessert joint, Tommy Thong, shared that the rent at their trendy location was so high that they had to go into “survival mode”. This saw extreme measures carried out to help cut costs, such as not taking a salary and keeping their air-conditioner and lights turned off.
Softsrve at Plaza Arkadia
Image credit: Softsrve
Coupled with a downturn in sales, their location at Plaza Arkadia will close shop after months of struggling. But to do so, they would need to sell 1,650 pints of ice cream to cover 2 months of rental and moving out costs. This is to make sure that they can return their shop to its original state for handover, as their Instagenic decor and neon lights that have been attracting customers did not come without a cost.
Our calculation shows that this roughly amounts to RM49,500 that needs to be collected from sales, with a pint of ice cream from Softsrve averaging at RM30.
Image credit: Softsrve
Netizens reach out in support for dessert spot
Softsrve’s announcement has garnered over 200 shares and 700 reactions at the time of writing, with many reaching out with words of encouragement and support for the store as they go through these tough times.
This included netizen Isabelle Ooi, who shared that Softsrve was “the most delicious home-brand ice cream ever”, and that she will definitely “stock up [on] ice cream before [their] closing.”
Image credit: Isabelle Ooi
Others also came out to share that they have been doing what they can to support the store, and will continue to do so even with their closure. Facebook user Siong Fong commented, “Hi Debbie, so sad to hear this. [I] have ordered your promo twice since MCO. Will be coming to grab these again this week.”
Image credit: Siong Fong
Some also shared their personal stories of visiting the ice cream shop, with Naqib Qippy commenting, “That’s so sad. I remember going there with my kids every time they finished playing at the small playground nearby. It was almost a tradition for us, in a way, to always visit Softsrve and make [my kids] happy before we headed back home.”
Image credit: Naqib Qippy
Softsrve closing down after months of struggling during the MCO
We have been hearing about businesses, such as bookstores, closing and individuals doing whatever they can to make ends meet throughout the various stages of MCO. So we hope that Malaysians will continue to reach out and support local businesses by patronising stores such as Softsrve.
So if you’re looking for your ice cream fix at this time, consider dropping by their store or ordering Softsrve’s pints of ice cream online here. There’s a current Buy 3 Free 1 Promo (RM90) too. If your location isn’t covered for delivery, you can also reach out to them through Whatsapp and they’ll sort out special delivery arrangements for you.
Read more news in Malaysia here:
- Ipoh man sells putu mayam from scratch despite arm pain from injury
- Delivery rider seeks M’sians understanding during thunderstorm
- Penang uncle sells apam balik & even gives freebies to customers
Cover image adapted from: Softsrve