Copyright scmp
A Chinese restaurant serving Hakka cuisine for more than six decades in Hong Kong has managed to avoid shutting down after working out a solution with its landlord before the venue’s pending closure. Chui King Lau restaurant in Wan Chai revealed the news on its social media account on Wednesday, expressing its gratitude to patrons. “Since announcing our closure a month ago, we have received heartfelt greetings, warm encouragement and strong support from diners from all over the world,” it said. “We are also fortunate that the landlord understood the difficulties and worked with us to find feasible solutions, allowing Chui King Lau to regain its vitality in the face of adversity and continue to uphold the Hakka flavour for everyone.” The restaurant said it would be closed for internal and equipment maintenance from Saturday to Tuesday before reopening on Wednesday. The establishment would also offer a 10 per cent discount on all evening orders after 6pm in November to thank patrons, it said. The restaurant, established in 1962, announced last month that it would close down permanently, citing the worsening business environment. “With mixed feelings, we must announce a difficult decision – Chui King Lau is expected to close down by the end of October this year or earlier due to the continued deterioration of the business environment,” it said in a notice on September 13. “In recent years, we have faced numerous challenges such as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, changes in consumption patterns and rising operating costs. Despite our best efforts to seek transformation and breakthroughs, we have ultimately been unable to withstand the market headwinds.” But the restaurant said it had not given up on the possibility of continuing operations. “If the market environment improves or we receive reasonable support from the landlord, we will immediately report this good news to everyone,” it said. The city has witnessed a string of venue shutdowns in the catering sector amid the worsening business environment and changing consumer habits. Last month, Metropol Restaurant, which was known for serving dim sum from traditional trolleys, closed permanently after 35 years in business. In July, the 36-year-old Super Star Seafood Restaurant abruptly shut down its last remaining branch and left about 50 employees in limbo as they sought to recover about HK$6 million (US$772,140) in unpaid wages and dismissal compensation. In May, 33-year-old congee restaurant chain Ocean Empire Food Shop also shut all its outlets.
