19 hours ago
Hong Kong's famous dim sum Metropol Restaurant to close in September as HKUST buys the space
A restaurant known for serving dim sum from traditional trolleys will close at the end of September after the venue was acquired by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) for HK$354.4 million (US$45 million).
In a reply to the Post, HKUST confirmed on Tuesday that it recently reached an agreement to purchase a property at United Centre in Admiralty for teaching purposes. Records showed the location was the fourth floor, which had been occupied by Metropol Restaurant for more than three decades.
'The university's School of Business and Management has always been setting up teaching facilities in business centres in the urban areas to facilitate classes and interaction for its students and staff,' a university spokesman said.
He added the university would use such spaces for other activities to support its long-term development and foster student growth.
Records show that Hong Kong Ping Jeng Lau, which operated the Metropol Restaurant and other eateries, had owned the property since 1989.
A restaurant employee told the Post that the establishment would remain open until September 27, but had not offered any reason for the closure.
The restaurant opened in 1990 and is one of three eateries in Hong Kong operated under the Heichinrou Group, a Japanese brand of traditional Chinese restaurants first established in the Chinatown of Yokohama, Japan, in 1884.
On the group's website, Metropol Restaurant is described as the brand's premium eatery for dim sum lunches and banquets.
It can accommodate 1,200 people, has five private rooms and is available for small parties or banquets of more than 100 tables.
The other two restaurants are located in Diamond Hill and Kwun Tong.
A notice in Japanese on the business group's website announced the closure of all its restaurants in Japan on May 20, and that the company had filed for bankruptcy the following day.
Metropol Restaurant is one of the few dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong that still serves dim sum from trolleys.
In an interview with the Post in 2012, Billy Cheong, then senior vice-president and managing director at Heichinrou Group, said he expected that Metropol would be the only restaurant to still use serving trolleys in busy areas such as Central and Admiralty in the future.
He said the rent would be too high for any other restaurant to keep the practice going, as it required operators to hire additional staff and incur extra costs.
The restaurant's looming shutdown is the latest in a recent string of closures in the city's catering sector.
The 36-year-old Super Star Seafood Restaurant abruptly shut down its last remaining branch last week.
Bakery chain Taipan Bread & Cakes, which invented 'snow skin' mooncakes, closed all of its branches last month after 41 years in business.
In May, 33-year-old congee restaurant chain Ocean Empire Food Shop also shut all its outlets.
Among the reasons cited by some of the eateries were high rents, shifting spending patterns among locals, who often crossed the border for leisure, and declining consumption by visiting mainland Chinese tourists following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said the situation had not improved in the catering industry as customers had become more cautious about spending money.
'Traditional Chinese restaurants encounter different challenges. The younger generation doesn't want to dine there,' he said.
'It's hard for the traditional restaurants to make changes; operators have to change their mindset and have to invest a lot to make changes. These restaurants are facing a lot of competition, and it is not easy to recruit new blood.'
Vincent Cheung Kiu-cho, managing director of Vincorn Consulting and Appraisal, said it was difficult to find people who were willing to take over such restaurants as operating expenditures were high, including rent and the cost of ingredients and labour.
'Especially when the vacancy rate of commercial buildings is relatively high, if someone is willing to take over the property under such circumstances, it will be easier for the owner,' he said.
Cheung said he believed there was a strong demand for facilities operated by tertiary institutions in urban areas as the government was promoting the 'study in Hong Kong' campaign to turn the city into an international education hub.
He observed that some university campuses were in remote areas and they could be on the lookout for convenient locations to set up satellite centres for part-time students and those enrolled in external programmes.
'Having centres in the city centre can cater to their needs and provide accessibility for students to attend classes after work or on holidays,' he said.
He added some educational institutions had been setting up satellite offices in the urban areas, citing the example of City University's acquisition of spaces in a Tsim Sha Tsui shopping centre. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
