In November, hot on the heels of the financial meltdown and just days before it was announced officially that Hong Kong was in recession, Domani restaurant opened for business. 'Unlucky,' says marketing director Rhys Adams.
As El Grande Holdings first attempt at upscale dining, the free-standing, glass-enclosed restaurant was built from scratch in an empty space between One and Two Pacific Place. The group spared no expense, stocking the cellar with high-end wines and recruiting Michelin two-star chef Mauro Uliassi of Uliassi in Senigallia, Italy, to create the menu. 'We committed to it 18 months before opening. At that time we could not have foreseen where the global economy was heading,' says Adams.
El Grande is not alone. A host of other fine-dining restaurant concepts conceived during Hong Kong's boom years have opened in much leaner times. Their expensive leases are locked in, consumers are cutting back and travellers with deep pockets are few and far between.
With plans put into action well before the economy tanked, these new entrants shelled out top dollar to enter the once seemingly insatiable dining scene. 'We signed our lease about six months ago when the market was very high, and it crumbled quickly after,' recalls Randy See, director of group operations at Cepage, a sister eatery to Singapore's Les Amis.
Cepage is in its soft-opening phase; the formal opening is scheduled for February 18.
High rents are also an issue for other new restaurants. 'Leases are at least 50 per cent less than they were in mid-2008,' says Sandeep Sekhri, managing director of Dining Concepts.