Greenwood Fish Market Tests Franchise Format at VivoCity

Singapore seafood restaurant business Greenwood Fish Market is taking its next expansion step into VivoCity, with a bistro that founder David Lee describes as a test bed for global franchising. The outlet will be its third location and its first bistro, bringing a different format to a business that currently operates two full-service restaurants.

A mall location with an overseas purpose

In a report published by VnExpress on 19 October, the company said the VivoCity outlet would mark a shift from its existing restaurant format. Greenwood Fish Market currently operates its original outlet on Greenwood Avenue in Bukit Timah and a restaurant at Quayside Isle in Sentosa, which opened in 2015.

Lee, 70, told AsiaOne that choosing a shopping mall rather than another destination location was intended to make the brand more convenient for existing customers. That gives the move an immediate local purpose alongside its longer-term expansion ambition.

“This will be a test bed for global franchising,” he said.

Lee also said he expected the global economy to improve eventually and was preparing carefully to take advantage of the opportunity when it came. His comments position VivoCity as a preparatory step, rather than an announcement of an overseas franchise opening.

For Singapore’s franchise community, that distinction matters: the stated ambition is international, but the next operational step is a local outlet designed to test a new way of presenting the business.

A bistro built around familiar dishes

The VivoCity bistro will retain a substantial connection to Greenwood Fish Market’s existing menu. According to Lee, around 50% of its menu will feature the brand’s signature dishes.

At the same time, he said the bistro format would allow the business to offer a broader seafood selection at better value, helping it reach new customers. The change therefore combines familiar food with a different setting and a stated focus on accessibility and value.

Those are the central elements of the proposed test: a mall location, a bistro format and a menu that balances signature dishes with a wider selection. The announcement does not establish how customers will respond, but it identifies what Greenwood Fish Market intends to put in front of them.

Keeping signature dishes on roughly half the menu also means the bistro is not being presented as a complete departure from the existing restaurants. The new outlet will carry recognisable parts of the brand while giving the company a different format to assess before any wider franchise rollout.

More than a restaurant operation

Greenwood Fish Market’s business extends beyond serving meals. Lee described three connected activities: operating restaurants, importing directly for retail sales to consumers, and wholesaling to hotels and other restaurants.

He believes this vertically integrated model has helped sustain the business. That background is important when considering his franchising ambition: the operation being tested sits within a company with retail and wholesale activities as well as restaurants.

However, the VivoCity plan should not be read as confirmation that all three activities will form part of a future franchise package. Lee’s stated commitment is to use the bistro as a test bed. How the broader business model might translate into an overseas arrangement remains a separate question.

His assessment of the company’s progress was notably cautious. “I would not call Greenwood Fish Market a success,” he said. “As with all F&B, it’s regularly up and down, and I’m constantly tweaking and fine-tuning.”

A measured step towards franchising

The VivoCity move brings together two objectives: making Greenwood Fish Market more convenient for customers in Singapore and preparing a format that could support global franchising. Neither objective requires treating the new outlet as proof that an international model is already established.

For prospective franchise partners, the practical takeaway is to distinguish an operating trial from a franchise offer. Greenwood Fish Market has identified its testing ground and its ambition; the useful next step is to assess what the bistro demonstrates before drawing conclusions about overseas replication.