Independent Restaurants in HK are Shuttering

This fine dining restaurant offered intricate dishes with stories

A few days ago I saw a social media post from a young chef's girlfriend that he was closing his restaurant in Hong Kong's Mid-Levels in a few days and told people to eat there one more time.

There were a few comments asking what was happening but she didn't reply.

It was a small fine dining restaurant with 22 seats, most of them by the bar where everyone had a front-row seat at the open kitchen to watch the chefs prepare food and have it served personally by the chef-owner. Every few months he created a new eight-course menu with new dishes, each with its own story.

Here diners had a front-row seat of the kitchen

Then today I saw the chef's social media posts saying kitchen equipment was for sale along with all the tableware, dishes, glasses, furniture... 

I messaged him, asking what was next.

He later replied saying he wasn't sure. He explained that he quickly made the decision to close because business was terrible in 2023, from March to November and could not see how 2024 would be significantly better. 

"We see no light at the end of the tunnel of 2024 either. The market is going to crash," he texted.

Crash?!

Rent wasn't an issue in his case the landlord was his partner's uncle. Even though the restaurant had low overhead costs, they could barely make enough profit compared to a restaurant with comparable overheads.

"I even injected capital two times," he added, to pay for food and staff salaries. 

The restaurant closed abruptly a few days ago

Hong Kong has become very expensive to dine in, which has resulted in many escaping to Shenzhen on the weekends for cheap splurges. It also doesn't help that a big chunk of the middle class and upper middle class, as well as expats have left the city too.

Independent restaurants are having a tough time surviving financially, and he observes those who will make it through are the ones within restaurant groups that have deep pockets, or those who have adapted to cater to mainland diners' tastes.

"I can't afford the first, and cannot sleep doing the second," he texted.

One can probably surmise the latter means lots of seafood like oysters, lobsters and sea urchin, truffles and caviar on every dish. 

From a wealthy family, this chef can afford to take a break and not even work, but only in his early 30s he needs to find something to do.

What do you do after you've opened your own restaurant for two years -- during the Covid-19 pandemic no less? Would he be willing to work under someone else again? 

Then a friend just told me that Maxim's, which has a giant chain of bakeries and restaurants is not looking to expand further in Hong Kong or the mainland, but in Southeast Asia instead. 

Even though Maxim's owner is pro-Beijing, it is looking elsewhere to expand. Even correct political leanings won't help you make an extra buck in China...