SINGAPORE - Changes are afoot at Air CCCC, the multi-concept food venture in the Dempsey lifestyle enclave.

Ebb & Flow, the restaurant group that runs restaurants such as Willow and Carlitos, is stepping in to take over the day-to-day running of the place.

The founders - American chefs Will Goldfarb and Matt Orlando, and Mr Ronald Akili, co-founder of the Potato Head hospitality brand in Bali - are still expected to be involved in the business, says Mr Lim Kian Chun, 33, chief executive officer of Ebb & Flow.

Air CCCC, which opened in 2024, is short for Awareness, Impact and Responsibility - Circular Campus and Cooking Club. It occupies a 4,000 sq ft complex in Dempsey that used to be a clubhouse for civil servants. The venue, which cost a seven-figure sum to set up, offers “accessible luxury”.

Chef Orlando, former head chef of Noma, ran Amass in Copenhagen for nine years before starting up Air. He has returned to Copenhagen. Chef Goldfarb runs Room4Dessert and Powder Room in Bali, and is returning to run these businesses and other projects.

The food at Air is a continuation of what Chef Orlando did at Amass - coaxing deliciousness from what others might throw away. At the restaurant, banana skins were used to make caramel and fish bones were transformed into noodles.

That sustainability thread will continue when Ebb & Flow takes over the running of the venue in late January 2026.

Mr Lim tells The Straits Times the place will continue as Air for five to six months before it morphs into a new concept in the second half of 2026. What shape that will take is still up in the air.

“It will be something that really stays true to the vision of Will and Matt, and the ethos that they have,” he says. “I think we’re lucky that there’s such a great platform here. We have had a lot talks about what’s important to us in terms of sustainability, product quality, locally-sourced ingredients, great cooking and accessible experiences.”

...