“Nostalgia becomes dangerous when it prevents the business from progressing,” said 3rd-gen director Alvin Say
There are restaurants where you eat, and restaurants where you grow up. This is Jack’s placefor most Singaporeans, it’s strictly the latter.
Most Singaporeans can see their green and white tablecloths anywhere. You may even remember the sizzle of the steak arriving at your table, or the servers weaving between diners with gravy boats in hand.
This year, the local chain celebrates its 60th anniversary. Any restaurant that survives six decades is amazing. What remains emotionally meaningful for many generations is another thing entirely.
Vulcan Post spoke with Alvin Say, third-generation owner of Jack’s Place, about the brand’s evolution over the decades.
The unexpected legacy of the boy who cooks
The story of Jack’s Place begins with an immigrant who came with little and built something lasting with stones and skill.
Let’s say Lip Hai came from Hainan and got a job as a cook boy for the British army stationed in Sembawang, where he learned the basics of Western cooking—roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, rich gravies, the rhythms of a classic British meal.
By the 1960s, he had his own business, the Cola Restaurant, when a chance encounter changed everything.
A British housewife, impressed by his food, introduced him to her husband, Jack Hunt, who owned a pub and restaurant called Jack’s Place near Killiney Road. Lip Hai was invited to manage the culinary and restaurant operations.
When Jack finally returned to England in 1974, he sold the business to Lip Hai for S$28,000.
As the new owner, Say began to reshape the business. The pub gradually morphed into a restaurant, and while it initially relied on Italian influences, other culinary traditions quickly made their way onto the menu. French cuisine, in particular, has left a lasting mark.
In its early years, the restaurant’s S$3.80 set lunch was popular with oil rig workers and office workers on Orchard Road. Lip Hai, who is committed to using fresh ingredients, personally went to the market every morning on his Vespa to get the goods.
The 60-seater restaurant on Killiney Road quickly outgrew it. In 1977, Lip Hai opened a second location in the former Yen San Building. When queues formed in Killiney, he would even take waiting customers to a new place down the road.
Jack’s place also doubled as a living watering hole during those years. The bar was usually packed, and Lip Hai would order whiskey by the hundred. Although the closing time was officially 11PM, the service often ran late to accommodate the late night crowd.
Jack’s Place had over 15 stores at its peak
As new HDB townships in Singapore sprung up in the 1980s and ’90s, Jack’s Place followed suit. Its first flagship store was opened in Ang Mo Kio and remains the brand’s oldest location today.
The style of the restaurant was deliberate: honest, familiar, and welcoming.
At that time, Western food was still a novelty and phenomenon. Jack’s Place wanted to create a place that wasn’t intimidating or exclusive—a place where ordinary families could enjoy Western cuisine in comfort.
At its peak, the chain operated more than 15 stores across the island, becoming a regular feature in large neighborhoods and urban areas.
In 2008, the family legalized their business under the business umbrella, JP Pepperdine Group. Alongside the Jack’s Place steakhouse brand, the group has expanded its portfolio with Eatzi Gourmet, a halal-certified arm that includes restaurants and a catering division.
A family business for generations
Today, the business is managed by the second and third generations of Lip Hai’s family, along with a team of long-time professionals.
Alvin positions his role as stewardship rather than ownership. “We see ourselves as owners and we see ourselves as managers of the product,” he said. “Each generation has a responsibility to protect what people love about Jack’s Place, while making sure it remains relevant to the next generation of diners.”
That partnership comes with its conflicts. Members of the third generation are encouraged to gain experience elsewhere before returning to the family business—a deliberate decision to ensure new ideas.
You’re not just running a company. You carry something related to your family history and identity.
Alvin Say, Director of Jack’s Place, JP Pepperdine Group
When a generational disagreement arises, the tie-breaker is always the same question: what is really best for the customer?
Since Jack’s Place is often associated with nostalgia, Alvin takes a measured view when asked if it’s an asset or a liability.
“It could be both,” he said. “Nostalgia is important because it creates an emotional trust that new products cannot easily replicate, but it becomes dangerous if it prevents the business from developing.”
“We don’t want to be a brand that people remember well in the past. We want to remain a part of people’s lives today.”
That tension between preserving treasures and avoiding drowning is an area Jack has had to navigate carefully.
Some menu items have remained unchanged for decades: steaks grilled on cow-shaped hotplates, lobster bisque, baked potatoes. These are not just signature dishes; they are emotional factors. Change them too much, and you risk erasing memories that hold customers back.
At the same time, dining habits have changed dramatically. Today’s consumers are more health conscious, visually motivated, and more in tune with global food trends.
They’re no longer just comparing Jack’s Place to other restaurants, but to cafes, lifestyle concepts, and a wave of high-performance overseas brands—mostly from China—that have entered Singapore with aggressive pricing and polished social media playbooks.
“Many of these products move very quickly,” Alvin noted. “They’re operating on a very strong financial basis and are very aggressive in pricing, marketing and growth.”
Playing the long game
To keep pace with Singapore’s challenging F&B sector, operations have changed dramatically behind the scenes, from technology and food safety systems to inventory management and central kitchen support.
While continuing to protect the classics, the brand is also gradually introducing new ideas and offerings to appeal to today’s diners.
COVID-19 was a defining moment for innovation. With the dining rooms closed, Jack’s Place had to turn its entire business to delivery and ready-to-eat meals almost every night.
“It forced us to accelerate a decade-long digital transformation into a few months,” said Alvin. The change was painful, but it proved that the organization could move faster than it believed.
Historically, the brand has weathered multiple recessions by staying lean and focused on its core identity as a value-for-money family place.
Part of life at Jack’s Place, says Alvin, is no mistake. It comes from taking a long-term view.
While the chain operates in 12 locations today, down from a peak of more than 15, growth is no longer defined by inventory.
Instead, the focus has shifted to something harder to measure: strengthening the experience, improving consistency, and gaining traction with a new generation of diners who didn’t grow up eating their first steak at Jack’s Place—but who would, given the right reason to walk in the door.
- Learn more about the host, Jack’s Place.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Singapore businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: Jack’s Place/ rainbows via Trip.com
