Hong Kong landlord calls time on Wan Chai drinking institution Delaney's
Another Wan Chai drinking institution is bowing out after two decades, becoming the latest pub to close its doors in the face of staggering rental competition and fast-paced gentrification.
Another Wan Chai drinking institution is bowing out after two decades, becoming the latest pub to close its doors in the face of staggering rental competition and fast-paced gentrification.
Delaney's Irish bar will pull its last pint and shut its flagship drinking hole on Luard Road at the end of next month.
Rival bidders for the 7,000sqft, two-storey prime location priced out Delaney's, ending its long-standing tenancy in the One Capital Place property owned by Sino Group.
Delaney's described the decision as the "final nail in the coffin" for a watering hole that had been a staple of nightlife.
"The landlord had given us the impression that there were others who wanted the site, therefore [we needed] to increase the rental," Noel Smyth, managing director of Delaney's, said.
"We feel extremely disappointed that it went out to the market a year ago to find someone who is stupid to pay these stupid prices they are asking."
Since opening in August 1994, the pub has paid HK$100 million in rent and management fees to its landlord.
But the Sino Group sought a bigger payday for its asset, putting out the building for lease a year ago.
Smyth's friends and rivals had assumed that Delaney's was moving on and he had to tell them the pub was not going anywhere - until he was outbid.
A spokeswoman for Sino said: "Both parties had been in renewal discussions, but unfortunately no consensus could be reached.
"We appreciate the tenant's patronage and respect their commercial decision. We would like to take this opportunity to wish them all the best in their future development."
Another long-serving bar in Wan Chai, the original Joe Bananas, shut in February last year after losing its lease, wrapping up 28 years of entertaining expatriates and tourists.
Over the years, it had built up a big reputation and courted controversy with triads and the Italian mafia, and had even triggered a diplomatic row with Norway.
Wan Chai is undergoing a transformation, as the old guard is swept away and the red-light district tamed and gentrified.
Delaney's other branches - in Tsim Sha Tsui and in Cyberport, Pok Fu Lam - remain open for business.
"We have a great relationship with those landlords; [both] of our leases have been extended. There never seems to be much of an issue," Smyth said.
With six weeks to go before its last orders in Wan Chai, Delaney's is struggling to find another large property in a prime location. "Time is not on our side," Smyth said.
The pub owners plan to have a goodbye bash for long-serving punters. "We're going to enjoy the last six weeks, party with friends and people that have enjoyed the facility, have a chance to say goodbye, and drink a few pints," Smyth said.
