What’s new: Chinese liquor producer Wuliangye Yibin Co. Ltd.’s restaurant unit leased a HK$250,000 ($32,240)-a-month space at Causeway Bay in Hong Kong and is recruiting staff for a new restaurant.
The 8,500-square-foot space is in the President Theatre building in Causeway Bay, famous for retail, dining and entertainment outlets. The lease goes three years to October 2023. The former tenant was a Chinese seafood restaurant that closed in the summer.
Wuliangye previously entered the hospitality sector. It owns two hotels in Yibin and Chengdu. A popular Sichuan-style restaurant named Wuliangye in Manhattan, New York, is reportedly owned by the liquor maker.
The background: Restaurants in Hong Kong have been struggling through the Covid-19 crisis, and had to deal with constantly changing social-distancing restrictions. Restaurant sales shrank 30.8% in the first three quarters, data from the Census and Statistics Department shows.
The slump in the restaurant business has had a negative impact on commercial rents. Causeway Bay had more than 100 vacant retail and dining spaces in mid-September, according to property agency Midland.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com).
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