Trader Vic's Closed

Trader Vic's, unfortunately, barely lasted as long as the hangover induced by their "original Mai Tai." The tiki-clad international chain officially closed their Beijing branch today, just one and a half months after opening. The reason for their sudden closure still remains a mystery. I called the restaurant and a fuwuyuan confirmed that the restaurant was indeed closed, but, no reason was given as to why. When I asked to speak to the management, I was told they were busy. So, naturally, I phoned their public relations manager in Shanghai from whom I received this response, "Really? I didn’t know that. I'm on vacation in Tianjin." OK…?

Jim Boyce's blog quotes from an e-mail that a patron who had signed up for the Trader Vic's VIP card received:

"First of all, we highly appreciate your always support and presence to Trader Vic's Beijing. Due to the adjustment of the operations, our head office unfortunately decided to close all the business of Trader Vic's Beijing since February 19, 2008. We feel extremely sorry for this bad news. Please come to our office to cancel your membership with Trader Vic's before February 29, 2008 with your remained vouchers and membership card. We will try our best to remedy your loss cause by the closure of the restaurant."

For those of you who missed the window of opportunity, all we can say is, you missed out. This would have been a great addition to the Beijing dining scene.