Tock's turmoil: deli's co-founders 'banned from premises'

While Shanghai's food and drink industry is getting all flustered over the announcement of Mainland China's first Michelin Guide (see today's bulletin), a stark reminder of the realities of operating a dining outlet in the city has been served up by social media posts from one of the founders of Montreal-style deli Tock's.

Just three weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the Henan Nan Lu diner - known for its smoked meats, reuben sandwiches and poutine - Tock's has become the subject of a bitter-sounding ownership tussle. Co-founder Brian Tock has taken to social media to state that he and his partner Mira are no longer involved after 'Uncle Richard Tock betrayed and ousted his own nephew Brian Tock in hopes of taking over the business'.

Following a lengthier post on his personal WeChat on Monday, Brian Tock published an edited statement on the restaurant's public Instagram account yesterday (under a Tock's logo that now has a big black cross through it). It reads:

'After 3+ years of love & everyday commitment to details, our operating partners Brian & Mira have faced irreparable concerns regarding shareholder/partner [Uncle] Richard Tock, and his intentions to take over the business. Currently, Tock's is open but with no operating team to oversee hygiene, food quality, service, staff... Brian & Mira were suddenly banned from the premises, staff were blackmailed and paid off with "lucky money", and locks were changed. #queserasera #itiswhatitis THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us. Stay tuned for upcoming F&B projects by duo Brian & Mira!'

When Tock's first opened in 2013, our review at the time lauded them for producing the 'most authentic and delicious locally-made deli meat we’ve tried in China'. An attempt to expand to Jingan's Shanghai Centre proved largely unsuccessful, but the news that Brian and Mira have left the business at which they've effectively been ever-present since its opening still comes as a shock.

Although Brian and Mira have been prominently front of house at the restaurant since the beginning, Richard Tock has also been involved from the start - our original review mentions bringing Canadian deli meat to China as being a dream of his 15 years in the making. We've so far been unable to contact Richard Tock for comment.

Further details remain murky, but for now it sounds as though the Tock's of old is no more.

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