'Mr Grumpy' chicken rice stall hiring more staff - no smiling needed

SINGAPORE - Chicken rice eatery Fiie's Cafe - which gained notoriety recently for the owner's grumpiness - announced last Sunday (19 February) via an Instagram post that they are hiring both full-timers and part-timers.

The cafe in Lucky Plaza has been enjoyed long queues of late, as food bloggers and curious foodies flocked to visit the cafe and experience "cursory glares" and "evil eyes" from the store owner, who fries the chicken himself.

Reviews of the cafe have been published on Google Reviews, with netizens generally praising the quality of the food while criticising the stall owner's rude attitude.

A user even likened the cafe to Singapore's own Karen's Diner, a popular Australian chain of restaurants known for their rude staff and deliberately unpleasant dining experience.

According to 8 Days, the owner's name is Shafiie, and he is running the cafe with his younger brother, taking over the stall from their mother, who is in her 70s. The mother had started her stall at the old Ordnance Engineering Training Institute (OETI) at Ayer Rajah Camp.

Now in his mid-30s, Shafiie earned his nickname "Mr Grumpy" for his unapologetically gruff attitude.

Staff requirements and manpower shortage

In keeping up with his infamous persona and online buzz, Shafiie is on lookout for young workers hungry for experience — with "no smiling needed".

Nirvana's 1992 hit song "Come As You Are" was also used as the accompanying music track to the post.

A netizen commented that "Mr Grumpy" would fire him as he would consume everything at the store should he apply for the job.

To which 'Mr Grumpy' cheekily responded, "Will fry you 1st before firing you..."

Fiie's Cafe's recent hiring notice lines up with the continued manpower shortage that continues to plague the F&B industry since last year after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.