Fangjia Favorite El Nido to Return With New BLGX Digs

原创 Kyle M. theBeijinger

Hordes of hutong barflies drowned their sorrows with bottled beer and homemade fruit-infused shots at El Nido's closing party last fall when the long-running Fangjia Hutong hole in the wall succumbed to the Great Brickening. Since then, owner Xiao Shuai and his partner Zak Elmasri, then at neighboring Fang, successfully transplanted that cocktail bar further south to Jiaodaokou. Now, we're happy to announce that these F&B partners in crime are well into reviving El Nido as well.

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The bottled beer joint’s soon-to-be-opened new location will take root in the oh-so-lao-Beijing courtyard of 1 Langjia Hutong, which has long been occupied by the bar and events space The Other Place. It’s a prime alleyway location off Beiluogu Xiang, around the corner from the now-defunct 8-Bit, and a stone’s throw from popular spots like Hoper, Mai Bar, Mai Fresh, and more.

Xiao Shuai, founder of El Nido, stands outside the bar's Fangjia Hutong location after it was bricked up last year

Xiao Shuai says he couldn’t be more thrilled to dust himself off and kickstart El Nido 2.0 after a very rough year.

“We've been looking for a place since the original bar closed,” he says, adding that he searched high and low and was unsatisfied with numerous prospects, before finally settling on the far better courtyard that formerly housed The Other Place. “It's a beautiful yard and it's right in the alley, which is exactly what we want! It's so comfortable for sitting, drinking and chatting with old friends.”

It's a beautiful yard and it's right in the alley, which is exactly what we want! It's so comfortable for sitting, drinking and chatting with old friends.

Elmasri, meanwhile, says this new venture has big shoes to fill at this location, leaving the El Nido team to fashion appropriately sizable plans to fit the bill and to allay fears among fans of The Other Place that the winning formula won't be drastically changed. “The Other Place was a bit of an institution in itself and we will be keeping elements of what made it popular, such as live shows, parties, and weekend barbecues. So essentially beers, hutong vibes, shows, and barbecues will be the order of the day,” Elmasri says.

Elmasri adds that "having a nice outdoor atmosphere is exciting. Although you can’t capture the exact hutong vibe we had in Fangjia, especially with the tree at Xiao Shuai’s space, this move is still an upgrade. It’s not on the street, but you’ll have really nice outdoor seating, so to do it now in the summer is a really nice feeling."

The El Nido crew will be permitted to move in on Jun 16 and they’re planning to launch very, very quickly, setting their sights on a soft opening within a day or two of settling, setting up screens in order to host World Cup viewing parties. Expect an official opening party on Jun 23, and a party fit for some much-needed good news for Beijing's hutong set.

Photos courtesy of El Nido, Uni You