Nearly Every One of Your Fangjia Hutong Favorites Will Close Before Sep 17

We paid another visit to Fangjia over the weekend because as many of you can attest, it’s long been the default go-to on nice days, especially weekends; head to the lively hutong area for a lazy brunch at Ramo, hang out until early afternoon, grab some nibbles at MoxiMoxi, Tuk Tuk, or Antlers, and have a drink (or, more likely, several) at Hot Cat, Cellar Door, Fang, or El Nido late into the night. Where else would you go? Is there any better way to appreciate the spirit of Beijing in the midst of fabulous weather?

Sadly, during our latest visit, we found that the old Fangjia Hutong we had grown to love over the past several years was barely recognizable. Each unique storefront had been bricked up and covered with dull, gray concrete. Beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows had been removed and left with prison-like, palm-sized holes. Several small businesses had been completely removed, and some of our favorite restaurants and bars had either moved, closed, or are teetering on the brink of extinction.

READ: The Day After: Ramo, El Nido Open But Fate of Other Fangjia Hangouts Unclear

Now comes news that  El Nido, which first opened seven years ago has long been one of our staples for a languid evening nursing one or many imported bottled beers and drafts outside, is being forced to close by the authorities on September 15. The initial knocks came during the Great Brickening, when El Nido's pretty bamboo patio was completely removed, soon followed by their street-facing door and window.

Owner Xiaoshuai, who has always prided himself on sourcing unique and up-and-coming brews for us, won't go quietly though. In order to entice us out for one last beer, he's offering 30 percent off on all draft beers and 50 percent off bottled beers until the doors close for good this Friday. That's quite the deal given the excellent range of beers he has on tap, including 8 Wired Hippy Berliner, Brewdog Elvis Juice, Omnipollo Selassie, Ballast Point Pineapple Sculpin IPA, as well as several bottled options from Mikkeller, Alesmith, and Prairie.

Ramo, which has been a favorite of ours ever since it opened this very month three years ago, has announced that its final day of operation will be Sunday, September 17. The restaurant/bar run by Paca Lee quickly gained a loyal following thanks to its breezy atmosphere and reliable salads, pizzas, poutine, and events co-hosted with other hutong establishments. Their bar space, Mimi e Coco, which opened in August of last year, is also set to close. Good news is that both will move out to Lido, with Ramo planned to be on the first floor of the new venue while Mimi e Coco will sit above. Head over to bid Lee and her crew farewell this weekend (Fri-Sun) and get 30 percent off your total bill.

Down to the east side of Fangjia, and a relative newbie to the scene, Antlers will also close up shop on September 17. Despite only having been open since March of this year, this small bar and kitchen joint has gone a long way to educating Beijing diners about the wonders of Taiwanese guabao, and will create a vacuum in its absence for cozy and whiskeyed-up meanderings into the early hours. Co-owner Tim Zhang says that they're looking for a new space but haven't had any luck yet. To send off this first incarnation, Antlers will be offering a buy-two-get-one-free deal on beers, ciders, and whiskeys until last call on Sunday.

Fang Bar, a joint venture between El Nido's Xiaoshuai and longtime buddy Zak Elmasri, closed last week but has since managed to turn things around with lightning speed, opening up their new space on 15 Jiaodaokou Nandajie (near Shoubi Hutong) on September 9, taking their cocktail-focused formula with them.

Cellar Door has maintained its punk roots right to the very end, tenaciously slinging booze from its tiny window with the help of a stepladder after its storefront was “demolished." During our visit, they were still open and providing Tiger, Punk IPA, Erdinger, Beer Lao, Leffe, Zeffer, and ciders, all at super reasonable prices. Owner Rain is also selling everything housed in her four remaining walls, including all of the furniture, fans, speakers, books, candles, and ashtrays (now there's a memento). Head over as soon as possible, as they might not last all the way to the end (Sep 15), and say cheers to this tough lady.

As for the other venues, Zak Elmasri's sandwich shop venture, Tuk Tuk, was one of the first to bite the dust early on in the Brickening. MoxiMoxi, our favorite Israeli eatery next to Cellar Door, moved to Beixinqiao then closed at the end of August. Fangjia's primo music venue Hot Cat Club has announced that all of their September events will go on as planned, and bar/outdoors club Good Friend Outdoors Club will also remain open. All of the venues at 46 Fangjia, AKA "The Yard," including Peiping Machine Taphouse, Yunnan restaurant Aimo Town, the Trainspotting film concept restaurant (yep, that's a new one to us too), and Tiki Bungalow appear safe and sound.

With all the recent losses and damage (culturally and environmentally speaking), in large part due to revoked and unrenewed F&B licences, it's obvious that Fangjia Hutong will no longer be the same. This weekend marks the end of an era, but every Beijinger who has lived, drunk, or eaten here will surely reserve a special place in their hearts for everything these establishments have done for us, and with any luck, will do for us again elsewhere in the future.

RIP Fangjia. *tips beer*

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
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Photos courtesy of venues, Ollo Swan, Tracy Wang, Tom Arnstein, Margaux Schreurs