That diversity is evident in 1-Group’s holdings today: 33 brands in Singapore, five more in Melaka, with an annual revenue reported at S$71.7 million (US$55.36 million) in 2025 (the company is privately owned). Its venues span rooftops, heritage mansions, shophouses, glasshouses, and office towers; its cuisines range from Venetian to Peruvian, Argentinian to modern Chinese, Greek to kappo-style Japanese.
This spread is not haphazard. Each space is designed to be versatile.
“We have always believed that a space should serve more than one purpose,” Ong explained. “A restaurant should be able to host a wedding. A rooftop bar should be able to transform into a private event venue. That flexibility is built into our DNA, not added on later.”
It’s a philosophy that has allowed the group to weather market swings while continuing to deliver what guests seek: Experiences worth leaving home for.
A REGIONAL LIFESTYLE EMPIRE
1-Group’s origin story is anything but conventional. Back when Ong was still working full-time at Symantec (after a career built at Ernst and Young, KPMG and Arthur Andersen), he began what was meant to be a simple MBA project.
He had no culinary training, no design background, and no prior experience in F&B. What he did have was a question: Could a sustainable lifestyle and dining business be built purely on the backbone of structure, systems and strategy? That experiment became the seed that grew into one of Singapore’s most influential hospitality groups.
When Ong started the company in 2005, then called 1-Rochester, Singapore’s culinary scene looked very different. The city was rebounding from SARS with GDP growth of 6.4 per cent, and stood on the cusp of a housing boom. The Dempsey area had just begun its transformation, and, thanks to the success of establishments like PS Cafe Harding Road, there was a growing appetite for lifestyle concepts beyond conventional restaurants.
