Slow Boat Taproom to be Shut Indefinitely; 5 Kuai Pints on Offer
Sad news, Beijing drinking buddies. After five years in the business of pouring delicious cold pints and serving one of the best burgers Beijing has ever seen, Slow Boat has announced that their beloved Zhangzizhong Lu-adjacent Taproom will be facing closure due to circumstances out of their control.
A statement released by co-owner Chandler Jurinka earlier today states that the space above the taproom is in violation of a number of safety regulations and thus the building will require complete renovation.
The emptiest day the Taproom ever saw
Jurinka adds that the news comes as part of the current demolition and reclamation initiative currently sweeping the city and has seen a number of our favorite F&B venues close already.
It's not obvious if, or even when, the Taproom will be able to reopen and so as to say a tentative farewell the team will be celebrating with 5 kuai pints of Monkey's Fist this Saturday before the locks go on the doors.
You can read Jurinka's statement in full below:
Well folks, five years after we opened the Slow Boat Taproom on Dongsi Batiao, we have received notice that the architecture above us is in violation and will be removed. This has nothing to do with us. Our business and operating licenses were renewed less than one month ago. For those that don’t know, this is part of the 开墙打洞 campaign and there are three stages: 1) correct architectural violations, 2) brick up entrances/doors in violation, and lastly 3) buy back the land so it can be renovated and resold.
When renovation starts our beloved Taproom will be closed. We are not certain how long. In fact, we’re not sure if we will be able to reopen. Only time will tell. Still we are forced to plan for the worst.
Yeah. We're sad too. But take heart! The news is not all bad. At the Taproom our last day of full food service will be Friday, the 19th but on Saturday, the 20th, we will be celebrating five years by offering pints of our Monkey’s Fist IPA for RMB 5 a pint. So come over, grab a beer, and let's go down with this ship.
Once the cheap pints are gone, you can always head to Slow Boat's massive brewpub in Sanlitun to drink up some more.
Photos courtesy of Slow Boat
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