A restaurant has closed down at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond - at least the third closure at the unit in the past few years.
However, it’s not quite as it seems, as each of the “new” restaurants at the location have been owned by the same company.
Foodie Kitchen, a popular spot known to many Richmond foodies for its authentic Northeast Chinese cuisine near the eastern entrance to Aberdeen Centre, closed its doors recently after less than a year in operation.
It is not the first time a restaurant at the location has shut up shop after a relatively short period of time.
Tiny One Café, a Chinese restaurant specializing in small hotpots, replaced the previous restaurant and opened in 2018 at the location, before it was taken over by Foodie Kitchen in late last year.
Opening and closing likely a business strategy
Tiffany Ho, a spokesperson for Aberdeen Centre, however, said the quick turnaround has nothing to do with the location or the rent, but the tenant’s “business strategy.”
“As a landlord…what I can share with you is this company was with us for more than 10 years; it’s never been changed. But for an outsider, you may think, ‘oh, it’s been changing [the restaurant] frequently, but it did not,” said Ho.
“So this is their internal business decision of changing the menu, the kitchen and the people. It’s totally not [a story about] high turnover, because to us, we’re dealing with the same company.”
Ho said she couldn’t speak to why the restaurant group decided to renovate the space and open a new restaurant every a few years but it could just be their business strategy.
The restaurant group decided not to renew the lease with the shopping mall after it came to an end, resulting in the closure of Foodie Kitchen, according to Ho.
Aberdeen Centre has signed a lease with a new tenant and more details will be announced in the next few months.
The Richmond News reached out to the owner of Foodie Kitchen but has not received a response.
Foodie Kitchen was also one of the few restaurants in Richmond that used a robot server.
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