Many Wudaokou Bars and Restaurants Shut

Wudaokou party people and foodies are dropping tears in their beers today as a number of the more popular bars and restaurants in the area were closed last week after an unannounced check, according to some bar and restaurant proprietors.

Among those closed include Bridge Cafe, Pyro Pizza, Lush and La Bamba, though both Lush and La Bamba had reopened as of today.

Others, such as Pyro and the 798 Korean Restaurant, remained closed with signs indicating they were undergoing renovations. Bridge told us they will be closed for a month.

One venue owner reported that venues are being required to upgrade their fire safety standards, while another said that others have not reopened due to problems with their licensing.

A sign on the Huaqing Jiayuan location of the 798 Korean restaurant said they are closed for renovations.

Many of the venues targeted are based in the Huaqing Jiayuan apartment complex, long home to some of the most popular bars and restaurants in the area.

If there was a good time for something like this to occur, it might be now: the food and beverage business in Beijing has been in the doldrums this week due to the fact that it's the dead of winter, it's near a holiday period, and its during a week where we've suffered through some of the worst Beijing air on record.

Some say business since New Year's Eve has been down as much as 20 percent.

Fire safety checks are a periodic risk for F&B outlets, as often the rules change freqently and are arbitrarily applied. No word on what sparked (no pun intended) the latest round of checks, but often a check is done as a consequence of a fire that broke out elsewhere.

In news unrelated to the fire safety check, we've learned that Eatalia, one of the bright spots of foreign cuisine in the Wudaokou area, shut their Huaqing Jiayuan location last month due to a disagreement with the landlord. Their two other locations remain open.

Images: Uni You

---