Landord Dispute: God Only Knows if We'll Ever Enter Heaven Again

Everyone's favorite half bar/half liquor store Heaven Supermarket was shut down this morning as a dispute arose between the management of the popular 24-hour Sanlitun watering hole and its landord.

This morning (Sept 8) at around 9.30am we walked by to find a group of people circling around the Xindong Lu venue's entrance, including three moving trucks and a group of movers. Piles of moving boxes stood outside. As curious reporters and responsible Sanlitun drinkers, we stopped by and nosed around.

One senior local told us that there was a rental issue, adding: "the landlord rented the place to someone else, so the new guy wants to push the Heaven people out."

A crowd had gathered as I watched the movers, and eventually several policemen also arrived. Several people began shouting at each other. The movers were waiting there impatiently, and I also spotted a sign inside the bar that read "Temporarily Closed."

Long a Sanlitun staple since at least 2010, Heaven was where many a nightowl started their evening ... or ended it. Its passionate following helped the bar earn numerous accolades, including Outstanding Beer Selection and Outstanding Student Hangout awards in our August Reader Bar & Club Awards.

We'll keep you posted as things develop. Hopefully it can find a way to stay open and earn more such trophies in the future. It's always been a place to spot colorful characters, and if it really is going to be gone, we'll miss it.

On another note, the Beijinger's 2016 Pizza Cup and Festival is just around the corner. The celebration will kick off with Pies for the People on September 15 onwards. Get special deals from various pizza parlors around town. Click here for more details.