Facing a ruinous rent increase, the Tsim Sha Tsui branch of the Fat Angelo's chain is the latest in a lengthening list of restaurants forced to close or move by rent demands.
The restaurant currently pays $160,000 a month for its 5,000 sq ft premises on Ashley Road, but the new landlord, which bought the premises recently, is asking for more than $500,000, said managing partner Andy Chworowsky of Gotham City Management, which operates Fat Angelo's.
The last rent rise for the restaurant, which has been operating on the site for six years, was between 15 and 20 per cent three years ago.
The new demand is the most extravagant to have come to light recently. The landlord of The Dublin Jack pub in Central recently tried to double its rent to $280,000, prompting management to move the business. The nearby Tai Cheung bakery, famous for its egg tarts, was recently forced out of business when its rent more than doubled.
Mr Chworowsky said: 'The landlord has told us he wants to split it up into three shops. I assume what he wants to do is get three high-paying tenants in as quickly as possible and then sell it on for a quick profit.
'I think he believes, because the street is quite busy right now, that he will get three takers quite quickly.'
The area was not busy, however, before Fat Angelo's opened. The premises, then owned by Hang Seng Bank, had long been vacant, and in Mr Chworowsky's opinion it will become quieter when the restaurant closes.