Ocean Grounds Closes in Beijing, Focuses on Shanghai

Café and cocktail bar Ocean Grounds Coffee has closed for the second time in Beijing, partner Jim Lee announced Sunday morning via WeChat.

Ocean Grounds continues to operate in Shanghai at The Hub at Hongqiao International Airport, and the brand will operate and expand in that city. Plans were already in place for more outlets in Shanghai when the Beijing partnership ended, and will continue as planned, Lee told the Beijinger by WeChat.

"We have a lot of fans here and it hurts to close a store anytime," Lee said. He would not rule out the possibility of returning to Beijing someday, but said his focus will be on Shanghai for the immediate future.

Ocean Grounds' split personality – café by day, custom cocktail bar by night – seemed a bit strange to the uninitiated, but developed a loyal following and was a pioneer in Beijing's bespoke beverage space.

Signage was removed from the Hai Long Plaza venue, across from the International Wonderland apartment complex in Sanlitun, on Saturday.

Ocean Grounds had only re-opened in the Hai Long space in October 2014, after its first location at the U-Town mall in Chaoyangmen.

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Photo: Joey Guo