THEY are the quirky ones. The places which know your likes and dislikes. Where you head to for food you cannot get elsewhere, where you take friends visiting from abroad. And yet, owners of independent restaurants, those scrappy places that are not part of a restaurant group, chain or hotel, are having a hard time. The closure of indie restaurants in the last year has been sobering for operators.

Source: The Star March 21, 2026 11:05 UTC