Lin Heung Update

Lin Heung Tea House was very full for dinner on Monday evening

After we finished what we thought was our last meal at Lin Heung Tea House in Central, our waiter casually let us know that the place would reopen on March 1 as Lin Heung Cha Sutt or Lin Heung Tea Room.

I was very annoyed to hear this as we all thought this was the end of an era, but no -- somehow there was a last-minute reprieve from the landlord, developer CSI Properties.

The place is re-opening on March 1 under new management

Hong Kong Economic Journal reported that some of the staff had bought the franchise from the restaurant owners and managed to get a three-year lease from CSI Properties with rent at HK$400,000 a month.

The staff said they would continue to run Lin Heung like before...

Can they really make the rent, pay staff salaries, electricity, gas, food and so on to make a profit?

First of all, last year CSI Properties seemed reluctant to renew Lin Heung's lease because it owns 90 percent of the building, so many believe it was the end of the restaurant. Why did the landlord have a change of heart?

Second, where did the staff get the money to buy the franchise? They don't seem to be earning super high wages to afford not only the franchise but to take on that kind of a financial risk.

Can the staff keep Lin Heung going another three years?

Third, do they think they can turn the place around just by continuing doing what they did before?

We'll have to see what happens come March 1, but I can tell you I felt cheated that I didn't know the place was going to stay open. So many of us went to Lin Heung to say good bye when in fact there was no reason to say arrivederci in the end.

But why the restaurant is staying open is a mystery to me and time will only tell.