Hong Kong high-end supermarket chain City'super to shut its last food court
Luxury supermarket chain City'super is closing its last remaining food court in Hong Kong's Times Square shopping centre, as the city's sluggish economy continues to take a toll on the catering and food production sectors.
Advertisement
The Amazing Food Hall in the upscale mall and office complex in Causeway Bay will be closed from June 30, with the space returned to the landlord upon lease renewal, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.
The closure means City'super will no longer operate any food courts after the company shut its 22-year-old CookedDeli food hall in Harbour City, a shopping complex in Tsim Sha Tsui, in February last year, following the expiration of its lease.
A City'super spokeswoman said the decision to close the food court – which currently offers items such as sushi, grilled meat and noodle dishes, alongside a wine and sake cellar – was made in light of changing consumer patterns and the chain's long-term portfolio strategy.
The food and drink section of the adjacent supermarket in Times Square would be renovated to include a new seating area and was expected to reopen by mid-September, she added.
Advertisement
But the company did not specify how many staff members would be affected by the closure or the terms of their severance packages.
A worker at the food hall said dozens of staff were affected and that the company did not offer any help in relocating to other positions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong developers eyeing border project urged to link up with mainland firms
Hong Kong's development minister has suggested that local developers join hands with their mainland Chinese counterparts to take part in the Northern Metropolis border town megaproject using a new approach. Advertisement Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Saturday that the government was studying proposals submitted by various developers and aimed to put one or two large land parcels in the Northern Metropolis project up for tender in the second half of the year. Linn stressed that the government was prioritising the 300 sq km project near the border with mainland China and was willing to be flexible to facilitate developers in speeding up work. In March, the government received 22 expressions of interest in the pilot scheme to develop three large land parcels in the Northern Metropolis, including from Henderson Land Development, New World Development, Sino Land and CK Asset Holdings. According to Linn, about 60 per cent of the expressions of interest came from local enterprises and the remaining 40 per cent from mainland companies. Advertisement 'We are now analysing and preparing detailed terms of the tender. Our goal is to start the bidding process for at least one or two land parcels in the second half of the year,' Linn said on a radio programme.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong should look to Africa, South America to boost trade: Fred Ma
Hong Kong should develop new markets in Africa and South America as it faces obstacles in its traditional ones in Europe and North America, the head of the city's trade promotion body has said. Trade Development Council chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang also said on Saturday that the city had to increase the size of its exhibition venues, noting that a 'lack of space' was Hong Kong's biggest disadvantage compared with different regions. Ma said that he expected Hong Kong's exports in the second half of the year to be weaker than in the first six months amid the ongoing Sino-US trade war. He said the council would focus on exploring new markets by visiting Asean countries, notably Indonesia while also looking at expanding African ones 'Right now we are facing a lot of resistance from our traditional markets in Europe and North America, so we must develop new markets,' he said. Frederick Ma took office as council chairman on June 1 .Photo: Jonathan Wong
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Elevated rents a ‘big problem' for Hong Kong restaurants as closures mount
Hong Kong's restaurant industry is bracing for the wave of business closures to continue into the second half of the year with little hope for a quick turnaround, following a string of shutdowns of well-established chains in the city. 'We are worried about the overall situation in the second half of the year,' Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, told a radio show on Saturday. Wong cited rent as a 'rather big problem', with industry observers saying that prices remained elevated. However, some landlords had recently reduced rents, and in certain areas, prices dropped by up to 15 per cent over the past six months, he added. 'However, when calculated by cost compared with the Greater Bay Area, especially Shenzhen, our costs are still higher,' he said. 'So, in terms of labour, rent, ingredients, other administrative expenses and promotion, it is precisely the cost-effectiveness that puts immense pressure on operating a restaurant in Hong Kong.' Bakery chain Taipan Bread & Cakes, the inventor of 'snow skin' mooncakes, closed down all of its branches earlier this week after more than four decades in the business, becoming the latest in the list of major chains that have shut down in recent years.
