Dragon-i, the upmarket restaurant and club in trendy Wyndham Street, Central, has removed its tables and chairs from public open space it had been occupying.
It cleared the area on Thursday, just over a week after its landlord received a government notice to do so, in a move that refocused attention on commercial use of public space.
But one district councillor says that is not enough and that the club should also pay for any income earned in the communal area.
The tables, in an area on the first floor of The Centrium at 60 Wyndham Street that is clearly marked as being for public use, were removed on Thursday morning, but it was not clear if the action was in response to the government order. Asked yesterday why the furniture had been moved, one staff member of the nine-year-old club said it was because the floor needed repairing. Others said it was because of 'management problems'.
A manager on the evening shift refused to say if Dragon-i had been ordered to do so by the building's owner, Sino Group, which received a letter from the district lands office on September 7 ordering it to clear the space and cease all commercial activity in it.
Before their removal, the tables were laid with Dragon-i crockery and cutlery during the restaurant's opening hours and all bore a plaque saying customers would have to fetch their orders themselves.
Nevertheless, the South China Morning Post observed on Wednesday that customers were being served at the tables, although staff said the tables were available to all, not just customers.
