Back in his secondary school days, Aston Soon recalls going to class with a backpack filled not with textbooks, but with his work uniform for his part time job at the now-defunct American steakhouse, Ponderosa.
After completing National Service, Soon joined Ponderosa full-time. He stayed on for 15 years, doing everything from waitering, to dish washing to cooking steaks, eventually rising through the ranks to become a manager. “At Ponderosa, they teach you everything. The experience was very valuable to me. I think it made up for all the studies I lost in school,” said Soon.
A year later, Soon opened the first Astons Specialities restaurant two units away from the original coffeeshop stall. It soon expanded to several outlets across Singapore, including in the CBD area.Astons restaurants are divided across three categories – Astons Specialities, Astons Steaks & Salads and Andes by Astons. The latter is a halal version of Astons that Soon opened to “answer the call from [his] Muslim friends”.
When Soon opened Astons’ first stall, he didn’t put much thought into its name, deciding to simply name it after himself. Now, Astons is a household name in Singapore, renowned for its delicious steaks at wallet-friendly prices. Take for example Bizen, a Japanese wagyu steakhouse under Astons’ stable of brands that opened in 2018. Wagyu is notoriously expensive, but prices at Bizen start from just S$18.90.
"We have made so many people happy and Astons has become a place that brings good memories." – Aston SoonHERALDING NEW CHAPTERS Soon remains committed to expanding the Astons brand overseas, despite the challenges. “We would have opened our outlet in the Philippines by now if not for the pandemic. But because of the pandemic, the restaurant is already done but we can’t open because the staff can’t come here for training, and we can’t go there to assist them,” he said.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: BusinessTimes - 🏆 15. / 51 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »