First up on Shaanxi Nan Lu, erstwhile popular speakeasy, Flask is gone. They hung on for a while after most of the other shops on that strip closed, but alas… SmartShanghai spoke with one of the owners, who said they're looking for a new place. Their other ventures, Botanist and Fumi are alive and well though. We wish the Flask project a speedy return to the cocktails scene...
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Next, as mentioned before, Pirata on Xinle Lu is also gone, due to "neighborhood serenity" reasons. Hey, chalk that one up to being too successful, maybe. They're also searching for a new home and we wish them luck.
This next one really hurts our inner child. The arcade on Huaihai Lu, upstairs from the gun range is closed as well. They had the rare Mario Kart arcade machine. Hope that somehow ends up in our Buy & Sell.
Finally, a few places in the Cool Docks: Vespertine and Nimbus.
Rest in peace.
2 comments.
you forgot La strada pizzeria on xikang lu
"It's just the end of May and our Closed Venues page already has more closures than all of 2015. Indicative of larger economic trends in the city? Hope not. "
IT IS part of the larger economic trend. As the economy tanks, more and more foreigners are leaving and newbies are not taking their place. I've been told that the foreign population has dropped by 30% in Beijing.
Shit's getting interesting.