Veteran Italian Café Aperitivo Calls It Quits in Sanlitun Soho
Though the Aperitivo team
put up a noble fight, the veteran Italian café quietly ended its
decade-plus run last week. A recent visit to their Sanlitun Soho
location saw its doors barricaded, and no staff members inside (though
the furniture and bar had yet to be stripped away). One of their staff
did confirm later, via WeChat, that the business is closed, though they
declined to explain why.
Fans of the veteran establishment had
high hopes that it could endure at Sanlitun Soho. After all, the café
had to abandon its original Tongli Studio-adjacent digs in 2017, one of
the many casualties of the capital’s business-busting gentrification
campaign. Sanlitun Soho seemed comparatively stable, and the new digs
seemed spiffier (albeit a bit smaller).
Aperitivo 2.0's interior was smaller but nicer than the original location's digs overall
Aperitivo's
demise is even more regrettable given their efforts to buck the effects
of the ongoing Great Brickening. In doing so, they joined the ranks of
other relocated businesses like Bungalow Tiki, Moxi Moxi, Rager Pie, and Vineyard Café, all of which have also since bitten the dust.
READ: The Tenacious Beijing Venues That Survived and Reopened After the Brickening
Prior
to all the recent Brickening turmoil, Aperitivo had a steady run on
what was once known as Dirty Bar Street. It was actually seen as one of
the few respectable businesses on the strip (neighboring numerous bars
with names like "Pure Girl"). As Beijing lifestyle blogger Jim Boyce put
it when the café left its original location for the Soho: "The venues
across the street from Tongli Studio and Aperitivo were bricked up...
But while they tended to be on the seedy side, Aperitivo had long
offered a spacious deck (protected by a barricade of plants), decent
alcohol and, as noted by more than a few female friends, spotless
bathrooms. In fact, few things put owner [Stefano] Fin into a rage more than if someone messed with his toilets."
Beijing’s
restaurant scene has certainly come a long way since then, with nice
bathrooms, of course, no longer being a rarity. Regardless, those
familiar with Aperitivo can’t deny its impact over the years, and will
surely be sad to see another Beijing F&B mainstay fade away.
READ: Yugong Yishan Officially Closes After 11 Years of Groundbreaking Gigs
Photos: Kyle Mullin
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