Since opening in April 2024, Chinatown Complex Food Centre hawker stall Big Dot Chicken has drawn crowds with its crispy, well-seasoned fried chicken reminiscent of KFC from the ‘good old days’. Beyond serving yummy, affordable fried chook, Big Dot Chicken founders, Ken Koh (middle in pic), 41, Jenny Lee (right), 46, and Hamidah Aidillah (left), 40, wanted to create a business that provided employment for underserved individuals – particularly single mothers – and offered them the opportunity to become stall owners themselves.
With this goal in mind, staff were promised an opportunity to eventually run their own stall under the brand, with no franchise fees or royalties. All they had to do was work as salaried employees at the Chinatown outlet for six months, after which they would be licensed to operate their own stall with free training, SOPs, and even ingredient supplies (for an unspecified duration).
Ten months in, this idealistic vision has yet to materialise – leading the founders to shut down the Halal-certified Big Dot Chicken for good. They announced the decision via social media.
Why it didn’t work out
“The reason we are closing is because we structured this to be a social enterprise,” Ken explains. “We wanted to provide employment opportunities to the underserved. We had a few staff who came in and did well. They would earn around $4K a month.”
When their most recent employee, a mother of six, left the job just a week shy of completing the six-month requirement, it was a devastating blow as the team had seen her as one of their most promising hires. “It’s a recurring pattern – there were also other staff that came and went. I don’t know why,” he says. Big Dot Chicken had hired six employees throughout its one-year tenure.
Ken now questions if their approach was flawed. “Maybe six months is too long. Or maybe they don’t really want to run their own stall. We suspect it could be the pressure of being your own stall owner instead of working for someone,” he reflects.
Stall still earning “$500 to $1K per day”
Despite generating a revenue of “$500 to $1K per day” even up till now, the partners ultimately felt there was no point in continuing if they couldn’t achieve their bigger purpose. “We can carry on, but the problem is it doesn’t fulfill our overall objective to do so. If we do that, we’re only limited to one stall. We can only hire one person as the stall is small,” says Ken, who reveals that they serve about 100 customers daily.
Expanding wasn’t feasible either. “Each Singaporean can only open a maximum of two stalls, so let’s say I use my name, I gotta be there every day – but I can’t, as I have my existing business to run. And Jenny can’t handle two stalls at the same time.”
“I feel sad about the closure, but also proud that we’ve actually survived for a year. We built something out of nothing. We’re not government-funded, we’re self-funded. I feel that we’ve tried our best, I have no regrets,” says Ken.
The three Big Dot Chicken founders are entrepreneurs: Ken runs a corporate training company and comes from a local multigenerational F&B family business (which he declined to name), Hamidah owns a research analytics firm, and Jenny, a private dining chef specialising in local and Peranakan cuisine under her business Nanyang Chef, created the stall’s recipes. At Big Dot Chicken, Jenny managed daily operations, Hamidah led community outreach, while Ken oversaw everything else.
Open to selling their recipes to aspiring hawkers for $888
Rather than franchising, the founders, who invested “a five-figure sum” to launch Big Dot Chicken, are now offering to sell their recipes, SOPs, and business know-how to aspiring hawkers for a one-time fee of $888.
Their decision comes after turning down more generous offers from larger F&B companies. “Some businesses approached us with five-figure sums to buy our recipes and systems, but we declined because it defeats our purpose,” Ken shares.
Now, they are focusing on individuals who genuinely want to start their own fried chicken stall. “Although it will not be based on underserved communities, I think people who want to be hawkers are generally not very affluent,” he explains. They hope this affordable alternative will still create an impact – just in a different way.
Last chance to try their fried chicken
In the meantime, you can still pop by for tasty fried chicken before Big Dot Chicken closes for good “sometime in April”, when their supplies run out. Originally, the stall also offered waffles as part of its menu, but they have since phased it out to focus solely on their fried chicken. Prices range from $1.50 for a chicken wing to $6 for a combo with thigh, drumstick and fries. Plain nasi lemak is also available for $1.50.
Big Dot Chicken is at #02-223 Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 335 Smith St, S050335. Open Tue to Thur, 11am to 3pm (or till sold out). The last day of operations is in April. More info via Facebook & Instagram.
Photos: Aik Chen
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