JOHOR BARU: Restaurants here are expecting to see business flourish further starting this weekend with the Hari Raya and Labour Day holidays falling close to each other.

       Many are also expecting to see an exodus of Singaporean visitors making a stop in Johor Baru starting Friday night.

       Restaurant owner Tan Kim Hock, 59, said business had been improving in the past few months as Singaporeans had begun making their way here to shop and eat, especially on weekends.

       “It has been two years since they could cross the border to spend their holidays here and many of them miss spending time here,” Tan noted.

       “Heavy traffic is almost everywhere in Johor Baru these days and many Singaporean-registered cars can be spotted.

       “I believe we will see more of them coming from this weekend until the first or second day of Hari Raya,” he said.

       He added that he had extended his restaurant’s operating hours from only five hours last month to 14 hours since the second week of April.

       “I have employed more workers and am also looking for more people to work here to cope with the increasing number of customers,” he said.

       Tan said he continued to monitor his customers’ adherence to Covid-19 standard operating procedures as much as possible.

       Another restaurant owner Roland Lim, 68, said he was grateful to see business improving after two difficult years.

       “It is such a big relief for me and other businesses in Johor. For now, it is still not as good as pre-pandemic times but I believe it will not take long for things to finally go back to normal.

       “We expect to have busy days starting this Friday as Singaporeans will start making their way here to enjoy the long holidays.

       “Locals are also expected to take advantage of the long holidays to spend time with their friends and family in Johor Baru,” he said.

       Johor Indian Muslim Entrepreneur Association secretary Hussein Ibrahim, who also owns a restaurant, said that while he was grateful to see business improving, he was also worried about manpower shortages.

       “During the fasting month, I only operate from night until early morning. However, I will operate as usual during the day from the first day of Hari Raya.

       “I wanted to open my eatery for 24 hours during Hari Raya. But because of labour shortage, that will most likely not happen,” he said.

       Labour Day falls on Sunday, with the replacement holiday on Monday while Hari Raya is expected to fall on Tuesday.