Landlord Offers 6 Months Rent-Free To Kacang Puteh Seller Who Closed His Stall Due To Poor Biz

Here is a national treasure that must be protected — the old-school kacang puteh man, whom folks of a certain age would remember as a mainstay outside cinemas. He presides over a pushcart stocked with jars of tantalising tidbits like fried nuts, murukku and steamed peanuts and chickpeas. Upon ordering, he scoops the reliably tasty snacks into paper cones for cinemagoers to munch on.

The last kacang puteh man

Amirthaalangaram Moorthy, 55, is widely considered as one of the last few kacang puteh sellers in Singapore. He took over his business from his grandfather, who started selling tidbits over 50 years ago.

Moorthy plys his trade outside Peace Centre, an old shopping mall that made headlines in Dec 2021 for being sold en bloc for S$650 million. His pushcart occupies a tiny outdoor spot just at the mall’s entrance, for which he pays a monthly rent of $600. He charges around $1.30 to $2 a scoop for nuts and murukku, most of which he fries at home with his family.

Hit by pandemic

But the past few years have been very tough for Moorthy, who had almost no business during the pandemic. He had to stop operating for two months due to the Circuit Breaker, and footfall at Peace Centre was lacklustre even till today. “Every day I open, but two years no business. Very very difficult,” the Chennai-born told 8days.sg in 2022.

To make ends meet, he had to borrow money from his father, a retired kacang puteh seller who sold off a house in India to help his son. “No business, how? Makan, rent, everything. This place is $600. I take the money, makan,” Moorthy lamented to us.

Sadly, it appeared that business has not improved, as Moorthy decided to close his stall earlier this month because he could not make enough sales to cover his rent. He wheeled his pushcart home, but gave customers the option to engage his services for parties and weddings. In the meantime, he told us, he was looking out for another cost-friendly location to reopen.

He is reopening again

But good news: Moorthy is resuming business next Monday (Feb 27) at his usual spot outside Peace Centre. “My landlord gave me six months no rent,” he explained, an offer which alleviated some of his financial burden and allowed him to continue operating his pushcart.

However, Moorthy shared that his rent after the six-month period has not been confirmed, and he was unsure if he would continue operating there after that. “See how lah,” he said.

Find Moorthy’s kacang puteh cart outside Peace Centre, 1 Sophia Rd, S228161. Tel: 9740-6070 (for advance orders and cart booking). Open daily except Sun, 10.30am-7pm.

Photos: Yip Jieying

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