Popular pub out as Hysan redevelops Causeway Bay's Sunning Plaza
20 tenants of Sunning Plaza, including Inn Side Out, told they have to be gone by September to make way for office and retail development
Causeway Bay is to lose a popular pub and restaurant on Hoi Ping Road to an office development.
Landlord Hysan Development told more than 20 tenants of Sunning Plaza several weeks ago they would have to vacate the buildings in September.
The tenants, which include the Inn Side Out bar and restaurant and Italian restaurant Da Domenico, were given notice two months after Hysan announced its plan to raze the office building and adjacent Sunning Court and to redevelop the site into an office and retail complex, expected to be completed by 2018.
"We just renewed the leasing contract for another three years late last year. It was a sad day when we received notice," said JR Robertson, managing director of Inn Side Out's owner, the Elgrande Group, which owns, operates and franchises 17 restaurants and bars, 13 in Hong Kong.
Since finding another 4,000 sq ft ground-floor location in Causeway Bay would be "mission impossible", the firm hopes to persuade Hysan to allocate it space in the new complex.
It has hired a consultancy firm to conduct a survey of its customers to support its claim that the pub caters to a wide audience of faithful customers.
"The landlord thinks we are a sports bar catering mainly for men. But lots of young ladies aged from 25 to 35 come to our bar," Robertson said. "Our intention is to collect data like our customers ages, why they like coming here … We will present the data to the landlord."