Latest Round of Brickening Leaves Gulou Unscathed, For Now
An air of relief is reverberating around the city following the latest round of commerce-killing streetside renovations in Beijing.
While one long-running Gulou favorite was forced to pack it in over the
weekend as construction picked up on the busy Dongcheng street, and
staff members at an even more famous Houhai restaurant are holding their
breath as government-backed closures loom almost inevitably, many other
popular nearby spots have escaped unscathed. Following rumors that have
been percolating for months, the bricks finally touched down in the
area late last week. However, the bricklaying that swept through could
be defined as surprisingly uneventful overall given the rampant
sterilization that ensued after revamps took place on other once busy
streets and alleyways like Fangjia Hutong, Xingfucun, and Sanlitun North.
All that may be of little consolation to regulars at popular Gulou cocktail bar Scarlet A, which suddenly announced this past Friday that their operations wouldn't last past the weekend. Co-owner and manager Zhang Wei tells the Beijinger that he's sad Scarlet A was chai-ed
because "it was a very down to earth neighborhood bar where regulars
became friends and formed a small community together. We owe our success
to them, and thank them for their support throughout."
That
being said, Zhang considers the closure to not be a fatal blow but
instead a surmountable setback. Indeed, the Scarlet A team plan to find a
new location and reopen as soon as possible, though Zhang says they
will set their sites on the less volatile Chaoyang District, leaving yet
another gaping hole in Dongcheng's vibrant nightlife scene. Another
upshot of the Gulou construction: while Scarlet A and a few other nearby
small shops didn't survive, a handful of other longtime favorites
remain unaffected.
Among the most well known to Beijinger readers will likely be Raj Indian Restaurant and the nooky Japanese eatery Murasakitama across the road from Scarlet A's former digs, not to mention beloved neighboring livehouse Temple and Dada nightclub. Further afield, popular Beiluogu Xiang businesses like Mai Bar and Mai Fresh, Nina, Soi Baochao, Hoper, and El Nido at The Other Place have all been unaffected, much like further west lying hotspot 4corners, though owner of the Vietnamese restaurant and bar Jun Trinh says
he has seen plenty of construction happening on and around Gulou
(submitting the lead image above as proof). Trinh voiced concerns about
popular Sichuan restaurant Zhang Mama being
bricked up, but the owners say they are only temporarily closed at
Nanluogu Xiang because of nearby construction, while their Drum Tower
branch has been unaffected.
The state is protecting cultural relics and is not allowing food and drink businesses on site, due to fire safety restrictions.
And
while plenty of big Gulou names are still going strong after the
weekend's construction, the prompt closures that did occur have left
business owners and patrons throughout the hutongs anxiously awaiting
another wave of forced renovations. One restaurant, in particular, has
hard evidence that such a fate awaits them, though their circumstances
are special: Hutong Pizza. Zhou Shuyan,
who has been the manager at the veteran Houhai pizzeria for the past 13
years, says their business is on the premises of an even older
400-year-old temple. Zhou explains: "The state is protecting cultural
relics and is not allowing food and drink businesses on site, due to
fire safety restrictions."
Worse
still, Zhou says: "Renovations are happening all over Houhai lately,
and that means there is next to no passenger flow. Business is
definitely not as good as it used to be." Despite all that, Zhou says he
and his colleagues are "sticking with it for now, and we will keep
working hard at it."
Despite the widespread renovations that Zhou
described, other nearby Western favorites say they haven't been given
vacancy notices just yet. Following months of chatter that Beiluogu
Xiang would be bricked up entirely, more than half a dozen businesses
there tell the Beijinger that
they are carrying on as normal, despite knowing that their
circumstances might change. For instance, El Nido, run by founder Xiao Shuai and business partner Zak Elmasri just
relocated from the brick-eviscerated Fangjia Hutong to the courtyard
digs of The Other Place, just off of Beiluogu Xiang. Though this new
spot may currently appear a safer bet when compared to the notoriously
volatile alley that housed them prior, skeptics would point out that no
hutong is safe these days. But for Elmasri and his cohorts, along with
swaths of other hutong proprietors, plying their trade in Beijing's fun
and offbeat alleyways is worth the considerable downsides. As he puts
it: "We're in an independent yard, so they can't block the door, which
is good news. Other problems might arise, who knows. But we know what's
going on and we know the rules of the game, so we are ready to adapt if
necessary."
We're in an independent yard, so they can't block the door, which is good news. Other problems might arise, who knows. But we know what's going on and we know the rules of the game, so we are ready to adapt if necessary.
That sentiment is shared by fellow alleyway bar owner James Hao of Hoper cocktail lounge. He tells the Beijinger that
even if his place gets bricked up or shut down, he will just find
another hutong location because he loves operating a business in that
part of the city so much. He adds: "The hutongs are unique to Beijing,
and they have their own culture. It is not only due to the distinctive
buildings but also because of the people here. Kind and warm old
Beijingers live here, and many interesting and sincere young people from
all over the world stop by. I don't want to leave the hutongs because
they have a very special human touch."
Photo: Jun Trinh, Scarlet A
Do you have what it takes to be a True Runner?
Scan/Extract the QR code above to check out our current job openings.
Want to know what awesome events are happening in town? Scan/Extract the QR code above to get the list of our Editors' Picks.
Got something to sell? Looking for a job? Or probably your soulmate? Then scan/extract the QR code above to visit our Classified Ads.
Always something fresh
Scan/Extract the QR code above to follow us!
Tap on the cover to access the latest print issue.