Slow Boat Taproom Upended and to be Shut Indefinitely; 5 Kuai Pints to Commiserate the Occasion

Tom Arnstein | May 11, 2017 1:57 pm | 1 comment | 6095 reads

Sad news, Beijing drinking buddies. After five years in the business of pouring delicious cold pints and serving one of the best burgers Beijing has ever seen, Slow Boat has announced that their beloved Zhangzizhong Lu-adjacent Taproom will be facing closure on May 20 due to circumstances out of their control.

A statement released by co-owner Chandler Jurinka earlier today states that the space above the taproom is in violation of a number of safety regulations and thus the building will require complete renovation.

Jurinka adds that the news comes as part of the current demolition and reclamation initiative currently sweeping the city and has seen a number of our favorite F&B venues close already.

READ: Defending Champion Slow Boat’s Fryburger Remains a Serious Contender in 2017 Burger Cup

It's not obvious if, or even when, the Taproom will be able to reopen and so as to say a tentative farewell the team will be celebrating with 5 kuai pints of Monkey's Fist next Saturday before the locks go on the doors.

You can read Jurinka's statement in full below:

Well folks, five years after we opened the Slow Boat Taproom on Dongsi Batiao, we have received notice that the architecture above us is in violation and will be removed. This has nothing to do with us. Our business and operating licenses were renewed less than one month ago. For those that don’t know, this is part of the 开墙打洞 campaign and there are three stages: 1) correct architectural violations, 2) brick up entrances/doors in violation, and lastly 3) buy back the land so it can be renovated and resold.  

When renovation starts our beloved Taproom will be closed. We are not certain how long. In fact, we’re not sure if we will be able to reopen. Only time will tell. Still we are forced to plan for the worst. 


Yeah. We're sad too. But take heart! The news is not all bad. At the Taproom our last day of full food service will be Friday, the 19th but on Saturday, the 20th, we will be celebrating five years by offering pints of our Monkey’s Fist IPA for RMB 5 a pint. So come over, grab a beer, and let's go down with this ship.

Thankfully, once the cheap pints are gone, you can always head to Slow Boat's massive brewpub in Sanlitun to drink up some more.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tomarnstein@thebeijinger.com
WeChat: tenglish_

Photos courtesy of Slow Boat

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Re: Slow Boat Taproom Upended and to be Shut Indefinitely; 5...
Posted May 20, 2017 9:33am by admin

From Slow Boat:

After careful consideration, the Slow Boat Taproom team has made the difficult decision to CANCEL TODAY'S 5 YEAR CELEBRATION PARTY. We are stunned by the overwhelming amount of support we have seen this week at our taproom, from new and old customers alike; however, the increased traffic to our hutong has resulted in multiple police visits and the authorities have strongly cautioned us about large crowds further disturbing the surrounding residential community. It is out of respect for these neighbors and the police, who together have graciously allowed us to run our business for five years, that we have chosen to not move forward with the celebration. We sincerely apologize and hope you will join us at the 2017 Burger Cup or at our Sanlitun location this weekend!

Thank you,
经过慎重考虑，悠航八条店团队作出艰难决定，临时取消今天的5周年聚会。这一周来，我们深深地感受到了来自新老朋友们的巨大热情和能量。同时由于人流量的激增，影响了周边街坊邻居也惊扰了民警同志。八条店5年一路走来离不开他们的给力支持。出于对他们的尊重，我们选择取消今日的聚会。请接受我们诚挚的道歉！这个周末你们可以到银河soho汉堡节或悠航三里屯店来找我们！

感谢您们的理解。

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