Drink the Bar Dry Dec 13 as The Den Shuts Down for Good

First they were down. Then they were up. Now it appears they're down for good, at least in their current location.

Longtime nightlife venue extraordinare The Den has finally waved the white flag, stating publicly Saturday that they will no longer be open in their current location as of Sunday, Dec 13. They'll be saying farewell in style with a RMB 200 all-you-can-consume "Drink the Bar Dry" party Sunday from 5pm to 9pm.

It was just over a month ago that The Den was slated to be closed, but a last-minute deal gave it what now appears to be just a temporary reprieve.

"We'll be here tomorrow. We'll be here forever!" bar manager Lisa Zhuang said at the time.

Now, Zhuang has changed her tune, hanging a sign on the bar's front door Saturday and circulating the following message via her WeChat account at 4:50pm:

"Due to government regulations preventing the PLA [People's Liberation Army] from using its property for commercial reasons, The Den will unfortunately be closing after Sunday, 13th December. We are sorry about the late notice but we hope that you understand that this is beyond our control. We will hopefully be back in a new location next year. Thank you for your support and patronage over the years. Best wishes for the holiday season from The Den Staff and Management."

Large portions of the property in the area most expats know as Sanlitun is owned by the People's Armed Police (武警, which in the note above is mistranslated into English as the PLA), including the building that houses The Den. The announcement is somewhat ominous for other nightlife venues in the area, particularly those in older or smaller developments.

Saturday night at The Den looked pretty much looked like every other Saturday night: an almost full house, the crowd split between twentysomething Chinese clientele and noticably older expats. Hip hop blared from the stereo while the bar's multiple televisions were tuned to a volleyball match.

Zhuang, at her usual place at the bar, said they will be holding a final party from 5pm to 9pm Sunday before locking the doors for good later that evening or in the early hours of Monday morning. It'll be a "drink the bar dry" special -- RMB 200 for all-you-can-drink as you bid farewell to what is one of the longest-surviving bars in Beijing.

She added that she doesn't expect this to be goodbye -- they are confident that they will open again, but it could be a while before the bar finds a new space to call home.

Given its prime location across from the northeast corner of the Workers Stadium and the rise of property values around it, the 24-hour wataering hole has had a miraculous run since its opening in 1997.

Almost the entire area surrounding has been redeveloped in the years since the well-known sports bar first opened.

The China View Building next door didn't exist at that time, nor did the massive Sanlitun Soho complex that sits to The Den's southeast, nor Taikoo Li down the street. Most of the bars in the area were nothing more than street stalls selling RMB 10 drinks in plastic cups by the side of an unpaved road.

Questions about the venue's future have been swirling for at least as long as the ongoing (and seemingly stalled) renovations of the former City Hotel that looms above The Den started several years ago.

"The Den has been the one constant in my life since arriving here 14 years ago," said longtime patron Jeremiah Jenne, who headed over to the bar for a last drink Saturday night as soon as he heard of its impending closure.

 A perennial Beijinger reader favorite, The Den most recently took home the Outstanding Happy Hour award in the Beijinger's 2015 Reader Bar and Club Awards.

In his epitaph for the bar posted earlier Saturday just after news broke, longtime bar chronicler Jim Boyce summed up The Den's charms thusly:  "[The Den] has a somewhat dubious reputation, given occasional late-night shenanigans, but it is far more than that: It has has supported local sports teams, been a haven for watching games, offered one of the best happy hours with beer and pizzas half-price daily from 5pm to 10pm, and served decent pub grub year in and year out. It’s been a place to meet friends, have a few drinks and some food, and chill out. The staff members deal with a lot of jackasses and can be tough at times, but if you act decently, they are sweet. Anyway, I will miss this place."

With reporting by Michael Wester

Photos: Steven Schwankert