Life.Culture.Discovery.

Opinion | Why close a popular restaurant? A chef-owner in Hong Kong says it’s sad but to grow you must move on

Stephanie Wong was the chef-owner of Wan Chai eatery Roots. She reveals how her decision to close began a year and a half ago, and why nothing is forever

‘You have to step away to be able to continue to create something new,’ Wong says. ‘If you want to keep growing, you have to sometimes scratch everything’

Reading Time:3 minutes

Stephanie Wong was a banker before she embarked on her culinary career. She reveals how she feels about closing her Wan Chai bistro Roots. Photo: Roots

Published: 1:45pm, 9 Jul 2022

I’m not someone who makes decisions lightly. I’ve been thinking about closing my restaurant, Roots, for over a year, maybe even a year and a half. I just want to take the ideas into a different format.

I never imagined Roots would be around forever. Yes, there was that time of yearning to open a restaurant – you do it because you want to connect, you want to create something and want your own space to be able to fully express that.

It’s lovely having your own place, but there’s also the constraints of a physical venue, because it becomes about operations. And then Covid-19 made it even more about operations. Sometimes, it takes the fun out of it.

In this industry, you see a lot of restaurants that, in their eagerness to hang on, change everything – and they end up compromising. I didn’t want to compromise anything. It was important for me to keep the essence and passion of Roots the same as when we started.

Roots was opened by Wong in Wan Chai back in 2019. Photo: Roots

The industry is facing difficulties when it comes to manpower. I’m lucky because I had a stable team.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x