Last Call Tonight Ahead of SLT Bar Street Closure

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The New Year has arrived, and it’ll soon be taking its first victim: the original Sanlitun Bar Street – just east of Taikooli South – is slated to officially close today, Jan 31.

As we reported back in December, the owner of one of the bars on the strip, Swing58, announced that their bar and a number of others had been asked by the Sanlitun Jiedao to close in January. This was confirmed by a notice from the Sanlitun Sub-District Office posted to a number of venues on the street as of Dec 25, 2022 (see below).

The notice read that Sanlitun Bar Street venues were appraised by a third-party organization looking into the structural safety and integrity of housing on the street. The appraisal result was a grade D, meaning the structural safety of the venues is not suitable for operation.

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What’s more, many of the bar street venues have not renewed contracts that originally expired nearly a year ago, on Dec 31, 2021. As such, they have been asked to vacate the premises on or before Jan 31, 2023, and pay any unpaid rent and fees prior to this date, or bear all legal consequences.

Per a report published this morning by 极目新闻 Jimu Xinwen, only three bars on the street have closed as of 7pm on Jan 29. The remaining bars are sparsely populated, the report continues, with employees and owners coming in to take care of things before the bars finally close and guests coming in for a final goodbye.

We’re not quite sure what’s in store tonight for Sanlitun Bar Street, but seeing as this is the final night before things end for good, there could be one final hurrah for patrons and owners alike.

Any plans to visit the street tonight or have any fond memories of Sanlitun Bar Street? Let us know in the comments!

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Images: The Beijingers

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