Loyal customers of Grappa’s Ristorante have issued a rallying call for diners to save the Pacific Place establishment from closure. A Facebook group has been set up to gather support and petition landlord Swire Properties amid concern that the community is being deprived of a “very successful and popular” restaurant. Grappa’s future after 26 years in the luxury Admiralty mall remains uncertain, with American family diner Dan Ryan’s closing next month. The Italian restaurant is popular in legal circles as lawyers dine between High Court hearings. ‘Tears will be shed’: US-style diner Dan Ryan’s to shut down Pacific Place venue in Hong Kong after 27 years Top criminal defence advocate Jonathan Midgley and lawyer Jackie Ho are leading the campaign. “Is it really a good idea to deprive people of their restaurant of choice by closing viable restaurants arbitrarily?’ Midgley said. “Who would choose to open a business knowing that if it is successful the landlord might throw loyalty to the wind and refuse to renew the lease?” A Swire Properties spokesman said there was “nothing arbitrary about our process and practices”, adding “our tenants are well aware that at the end of any term, their leases may or may not be renewed.” The firm spoke to prospective tenants when leases approached renewal as part of its practice. Midgley pointed to the closure in 2014 of Domani, another restaurant owned by El Grande, the parent company of Grappa’s, that moved out to make way for a new concept restaurant run by Swire. Part of Swire’s plans include 50 per cent more food and beverage outlets in Pacific Place. Will classic Hong Kong restaurants Grappa’s and Cafe Met be the next victims of Pacific Place’s dramatic overhaul? Swire Properties said last week that its role as landlord was to keep refreshing its brands to ensure more “more variety, diversity, a broader range of choices” as it combats a downturn in tourism numbers and falling retail sales – and the likes of Dan Ryan’s were “not fresh” after 27 years. “This is the context in which we are reviewing Grappa’s lease, but no decision has been taken yet,” the Swire spokesman said. Among Facebook group users, Jeff Herbert said: “Grappa’s should be considered an asset, by any right minded mall. Well established, heavily patronised, and decent. It is the designer junk shopping malls that should be discontinued.” Alpha Lau vowed “never go to PP [Pacific Place] once both these restaurants close for sure”. She said she would find the mall more useful instead as a passageway to go from Admiralty MTR station to the nearby Star Street bar and restaurant hub. Midgley said Hong Kong was transitory by nature but became more so because restaurants could not last more than a few years before being thrown out. “I really miss Domani and I know many people feel the same. Many will miss Dan Ryan’s. I hope it is not too late to save Grappa’s.” JR Robertson, managing director of El Grande, said: “We’re grateful for the support, and for the long-lasting friendships we’ve developed with customers over the past 25 years. “It’s a rare privilege in today’s world of fast-changing trends. We thank Swire for the opportunity, and we can only hope they allow it to continue at Pacific Place.” The group said it would gather enough names to publish an advert of protest in the South China Morning Post.