2023 Year-in-Review: Places We Bid Goodbye To

After three years of Covid uncertainty, 2023 was a nice dose of normality in Beijing. And what a year it’s been! In our 2023 Year-in-Review we’re taking a look back at the happenings in the capital from this year that was.

Each year it is with a heavy heart that we take a look back at places and businesses around Beijing that unfortunately closed their doors and bid goodbye to the capital. 

Sanlitun Bar Street Officially Closes

One of the first casualties of 2023 was Sanlitun Bar Street with businesses on the strip officially closing their doors on Jan 31. The bars were told to close by the Sanlitun Sub-District Office with announcements posted on the buildings reading that the venues were appraised by a third-party organization and found to be Grade D, meaning the structural safety of the venues is not suitable for continued operation. In addition, many of the venues had not renewed contracts that originally expired on Dec 31, 2021.

Following the closure the strip has undergone renovations, including the widening of the sidewalk and a separate bike lane being put in as part of the city’s move towards a慢行系统 mànxíng xìtǒng or “slow traffic system”. The new look of the street is now beginning to take shape with the outer shell buildings now visible behind Tyvek-covered wooden frames printed with the place names that will occupy them. Some Bar Street former residents including Red Moon, Swing 58, and J.M. Picture & Framing are set to move back in along with new spots such as Spanish restaurant Carmen, a former Nali Patio tenant.

Green Cow City Cafe Quietly Closes

Popular brunch and bagel spot Green Cow City Cafe quietly closed its doors earlier this year. No reason was given for the closure, however problems for the owners, Mrs Shanen and her husband, first started back in 2018 when their Shunyi farm linked to the cafe was abruptly shut down. Since then, Green Cow City Cafe managed to bravely soldier on, continuing to sell their authentic New York style bagels along with other baked treats and delicious brunch options. But it seems that time, and perhaps as was the case for many places in the F&B industry, the effects of Covid, finally caught up to them. The space previously occupied by the cafe now remains empty.  

Hulu’s Taikooli and Indigo Mall Branches Close, Hulu by WAB becomes Iberico by TRB

2023 saw TRB’s casual dining brand Hulu closing up their shops in Taikooli and Indigo Mall and transforming Hulu by WAB into a new restaurant. The first branch of Hulu was the Taikooli branch which opened up back in February 2018 to much eager anticipation. Combining TRB’s excellent customer service and hospitality with a more relaxed dining experience proved a success as did the great quality food. 

It was then a surprise to many when Hulu’s closures were announced. When speaking on the closures, however, TRB owner Ignace Lecleir told the Beijinger back in April that the leases at Taikooli and Indigo Mall had come to an end and they made the decision to focus on a new project instead.  Said new project was turning their Hulu branch by WAB into Spanish restaurant Iberico by TRB, which has proved to already be so successful that they’ve opened a second branch by Liangmaqiao. Hulu off-shoot Peach by Hulu is also still very much alive and thriving with an impressive five branches around the capital. 

NAKED Nut Butters Stops Production

A late casualty of Covid, NAKED Nut Butters stopped production of their popular nutty, vegan spreads in April of this year. Established by expat duo Katie and Meredith back in 2016, people could not get enough of their wide selection of delicious nut butters. However, after Katie decided to leave China and following a loss of expat customers who left China during Covid, Meredith found that managing a company on her own was too much for one person and made the difficult decision to close up shop. After selling out of their remaining stock soon after their closure announcement, Meredith did one last additional batch of nut butters before stopping production for good.

Déjà Vu Closes Its Sanlitun Courtyard No. 4 Shop

Second-hand clothing and bookstore Déjà Vu closed its Beijing shop at the end of June. Located in Sanlitun's Courtyard No. 4, the shop also doubled as a cafe and was the brand's second attempt at opening a brick and mortar store in the capital, having previously had a shop at Dawanglu. Unfortunately, the pandemic struck a blow to their business throughout 2022, and just as they were recovering their lease ended abruptly. Although they had to close their Beijing store they still have a physical store in Shanghai and hope to open another one in Beijing in the future. They also have items avaialbe to buy through their app 多抓鱼 which you can download via their WeChat (scan the QR code below to follow them). 

Nali Patio Officially Closes

After managing to escape partial demolition from the outgoing landlord last year, it looked like Nali Patio was set to live for another day, yet alas it was not to be. Rumors that Nali Patio was set to close surfaced around February of this year and were then confirmed later in June, with a Jul 31 closure date set. 

The popular dining and nightlife spot was home to many great restaurants such as Daruma, Bottega, El Barrio, Niajo, Mosto, Wagyukami, and The Bell x Martini. A number of these restaurants, including Bottega, Martini and Mosto have now opened up new locations in Beijing while the fate of others still remains unclear. 

There is still yet to be an official announcement on the plans for the Nali Patio space, but it was rumored that the building may be completely torn down to make room for a new development. When we visited on Dec 19, new fencing around the complex displayed a number of stores and restaurants that could be set to open up in the development when it reopens. These include such fanciful names Latte Pet House, café Dr am, fruit shop 优果优品, tea and fruit juice shop Sunny Lan and a variety of other businesses. Of course, these could just be stock designs and not actual businesses at all, so we'll have to wait and see what happens.

nugget Closes Its Doors in Beiluo

In August nugget announced that it would be bidding farewell to the capital after three years occupying a space nestled just off Beiluoguxiang. A cultural space that was part cafe, part bar and part live house nugget had seen a variety of challenges over the years including noise complaints from neighbors and the struggle of staying within the ever changing lines of what’s permissible. 

In one last hurrah, nugget decided to say goodbye with a bang in the form of Nugchella 2023. A week long music festival, Nugchella saw nugget regulars like Axis Neptune and Hazel Shang take to the tiny stage for a final musical farewell. However, it wasn’t all bad news with the space immediately being taken over by new bar Golden Weasel, the opening of which we’ll be covering in more detail in a soon to come post about new bar openings in 2023.

H&M Closes its Sanlitun Branch

H&M’s flagship store officially closed its doors on Jun 11 this year. The store had opened back in 2014 and its mirrored walls had made it an iconic landmark of the Sanlitun shopping complex. According to staff at the store, the closure was due to the lease expiring, however it follows a trend of H&M store closures in recent years, with the fast fashion brand now having 14 stores in Beijing, down from a previous 20. 

The large space that was occupied by H&M is being split into two separate stores, with FILA set to take over the western half of the space and fitness wear brand Lululemon taking over the eastern side. No date has yet been set for when they will open.

4corners Owner Jun Trinh Announces Closure

2023 is ending with one last gut-wrenching closure, with 4corners’ owner Jun Trinh announcing that he has made the decision to shut the popular Southeast Asian restaurant. In a statement on social media, Trinh wrote “lt comes with a heavy heart that after three years since the pandemic and 11 years of operations, 4corners has succumbed to her symptoms of pandemic driven poor economy and once lockdown in Beijing ended, a serious case of ‘Hey, where'd everybody go?'. Some of us close to her believe she passed from a broken heart. lt was sad to be the one to pull the plug but she would've wanted it to be that way rather than see her condition worsen.”

Located just north of Houhai, 4corners was opened by Trinh and Tavey Lin back in 2012. Trinh is a Vietnamese Canadian chef, this was reflected in the menu at 4corners which offered a range of Vietnamese cuisine along with a few Canadian classics like poutine. In its heyday, it was a popular spot for live music and nurtured bands such as Tavey Lin and the Solid Gold Dream Machine and Stevie Mac and the Mac Daddies. 

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Images: courtesy of the venues, Katie Coy