Gao Yuanyuan's high-end restaurant for wedding parties suddenly closed its doors, and he didn't even have time to collect the tableware! It has been open for nearly 10 years, with an average per capita consumption of nearly 1,000 yuan, and has been selected as a Michelin for three consecutive years
Every reporter: Bi Yuanyuan, Song Meilu, every editor: Lu Xiangyong, Wen Duo
On the Beijing dining map, the sudden closure of Opera BOMBANA, a Michelin-starred Italian restaurant, has aroused the concern of the industry and diners. The restaurant, which has been open for nearly 10 years, won one Michelin star in Beijing in 2022. It used to be the venue for Gao Yuanyuan and Zhao Youting's "Huimen" wedding party, and it was also a private gathering place for many stars such as Tsui Hark and Wu Bai.
What was once a glorious restaurant now says "goodbye".
Recently, some restaurants with an average per capita consumption of thousands of yuan have closed down one after another, and many high-end restaurants have to face the challenges of market reality, and have launched discount group purchase packages one after another, trying to seek a glimmer of life in the fierce market competition.
What makes these restaurants take off their shining crowns and turn to the "lifeline" of group buying?
Michelin-starred restaurants in Beijing suddenly closed
"Friends: Opera BOMBANA will officially close on April 14, 2024... ”
On April 11, Opera BOMBANABeijing's official WeChat account released a "farewell letter".
"Since its opening in May 2013, Opera BOMBANA has become one of the leading western restaurants in Beijing with its authentic Italian style, Michelin-starred cuisine and service. Opera BOMBANA introduces itself.
This paragraph is not without basis. In the minds of many diners, Opera BOMBANA is one of the representatives of high-end Italian restaurants in Beijing. According to relevant information, Opera BOMBANA was founded by three-Michelin-starred international celebrity chef Umberto Bombana.
Over the years, Opera BOMBANA has also been an intimate meeting place for many celebrities. In 2014, Gao Yuanyuan and Zhao Youting's Beijing "Huimen" wedding party was held here. This is Gao Yuanyuan and Zhao Youting's favorite restaurant in Beijing, and they can often be seen happily in the restaurant. Opera BOMBANA once posted.
Earlier, some netizens met Tsui Hark and Wu Bai in the restaurant.
With the arrival of a number of celebrities, Opera BOMBANA's reputation has become even greater.
But it was in this spring season that Opera BOMBANA suddenly announced the news of its closure. On April 13, a reporter from the "Daily Economic News" went to Opera BOMBANA, only to see that the gate was locked and silent. A staff member told reporters that it was a "sudden closure". "Usually business is okay, but at the beginning of the month, the store issued a notice saying that it would reopen on April 10, but I didn't expect it to be suspended. Another staff member revealed.
Opposite Opera BOMBANA is Din Tai Fung, and the store staff also thought that Opera BOMBANA's closure was too sudden: "It closed at the beginning of this month, and a notice was posted at the door. ”
Parkview Green is home to many high-end brands such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Kirin Jewelry, Panerai and more. Even so, Opera BOMBANA's décor is still extravagant. It occupies two floors of the sunken plaza in the southwest corner, with a red and black façade that glistens in the sun. The high ceilings, red chairs, and Korean artist Kang Hyung-koo's "Monroe" series of works highlight the restaurant's artistic and modern feel.
Through the doors and windows, you can see that there are still some uncleaned tableware scattered on the table in the store, which seems to tell the haste and reluctance to close the store. Although the restaurant has officially announced the closure of the restaurant, the staff of Parkview Green still said in an interview that they have only received a notice of "suspension of business", and they do not know the specific arrangements and details of the closure in the future.
In recent years, we have launched preferential packages
I also sell cakes online
Opera BOMBANA紧闭大门,只留下米其林标在门外静静闪耀。
"For so many years, Opera has been the OG (official guide) of local Italian cuisine in Beijing, but I don't think the taste and service are as good as the new restaurant experience. As an old-school Black Pearl and Michelin-starred restaurant, I really feel like I should go the extra mile. One user expressed his opinion on the online platform.
Despite being in business for nearly 10 years, Opera BOMBANA only won one Michelin star in Beijing in 2022. Until this year, Opera BOMBANA has been awarded the honor of one Michelin Star Restaurant in Beijing for three consecutive years and the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide for seven consecutive years.
On the public reviews, the reviews about Opera BOMBANA are not all praise. Some people praise its per capita price of 963 yuan as good value for money, but others express dissatisfaction with its taste and service. On April 11, a user left a message saying: "Black Pearl Opera BOMBANA didn't expect to be a swan song. On April 3, a user said: "It is a pity that the once glorious Italian food in Beijing is now not settled by the supplier, causing the supplier to block the door to collect debts." ”
Coincidentally, on Weibo, a user who claimed to be the supplier of Opera BOMBANA said: "I am that supplier and owe us more than 4 million." ”
In response to the truth or falsehood of these netizens' statements, the reporter of "Daily Economic News" tried to find out by calling the open phone number of Opera BOMBANA, but there was no response as of press time.
According to the official official account of Opera BOMBANA, the main operator of the store is Beijing Yasong Catering Service Co., Ltd. According to the national enterprise credit information publicity system and enterprise investigation, the company was established on April 26, 2013, with a registered capital of 2000, and the controlling shareholder is Whip Profit Power Co., Ltd. located in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2022, the company had 40 employees.
According to the company's investigation, a few days before the store closed, the legal representative of Beijing Yasong Catering Service Co., Ltd. changed from Huang Qiaofu to Gao Peisong. Who is Huang Qiaofu? Qichacha labeled Huang Qiaofu as the general manager of "Parkview Green". However, when asked about the relationship between Parkview Green and Opera Bombana, the staff of Parkview Green said that they were "not very clear".
On April 1 this year, Opera Bombana was also punished by the Chaoyang District Administration for Market Regulation in Beijing "before it was suspended". The reason is that the restaurant sold cakes online without obtaining a license for the production and sale of decorated cake food. From December 1, 2022 to August 21, 2023, the restaurant sold a total of about 300 cakes online, with sales of 16,464 yuan. The penalty results show that the company was fined 16,464 yuan.
As a one-Michelin-starred restaurant, Opera BOMBANA has also put down its position in recent years, opened a takeaway channel and participated in the "Restaurant Week" activities. The information shows that during the event of "Restaurant Week", the price of lunch is 398 per person. In other words, consumers only have to pay less than half of the per capita consumption price to taste the food of this high-end restaurant. These efforts do not seem to have saved Opera BOMBANA's fortunes.
Although Opera BOMBANA in Beijing has said goodbye, it still has many "brother restaurants".
Opera BOMBANA的创始人Umberto Bombana还在香港、澳门、上海等多地都开设了"Bombana家族"店。
For example, the average price of 81/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA in Hong Kong is RMB 1,271 on Dianping. In 2011, it became the first Italian restaurant outside of Italy to receive three Michelin stars, and in 2013 it was named one of the "World's 50 Best Restaurants", and the only restaurant in Hong Kong to be awarded three Michelin stars. Shanghai also has 81/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA, with an average price per person of RMB2,281 on Dianping, which has been awarded two Michelin Guide stars in Shanghai since 2017 and has been awarded two stars for seven consecutive years. Macau's 81/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA, priced at RMB964 per person, was reopened in 2021 and helmed by Michelin-starred celebrity chef Riccardo La Perna.
The "Black Pearls" frequently "go down to earth"
Launched group purchase packages
In recent years, with the evolution of consumer demand, the high-end catering industry is undergoing profound structural adjustment. Some high-end restaurants have closed one after another, with Shanghai's JEJU restaurant, once known as the "hardest restaurant to book" and 880 yuan per person, closing in 2023, and Beijing's Black Pearl two-diamond restaurant Refer also closing at the beginning of the new year.
In order to survive, many high-end F&B brands with labels of "scarce" and "expensive" have also "descended" to launch various group purchase packages to attract a wider range of customers.
The reporter searched for the restaurants on the list of Black Pearl in Beijing in 2024 on Dianping and found that 13 of the 38 restaurants on the list have launched group purchase packages, and some of them are discounted by more than 5%.
The "2023 China Catering Consumption Trend Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") released by Red Meal Network shows that high-end catering is under overall pressure, and from October 2022 to April 2023, the proportion of stores with an average per capita of more than 300 yuan has declined month by month, the proportion of stores with an average of 100 yuan ~ 300 yuan per capita and 50 yuan ~ 100 yuan per capita has increased slightly, and the proportion of low-end stores with an average of less than 50 yuan per capita has basically remained stable. The overall K-shaped differentiation is present, that is, the real high-end and real rigid demand stores are still rising, but the pseudo-luxury and light luxury are declining.
Zhu Danpeng, an analyst of China's food industry, said in an interview with the "Daily Economic News" that the current group buying activities and discount strategies of high-end restaurants are increasingly showing their "down-to-earth" side. During his on-site visits, he found that the prices of set menus in many high-end restaurants have been significantly reduced, bringing them closer to the level of public consumption.
Not only that, mid-to-high-end restaurants that used to focus on banquets have also begun to adapt to market demand and launch small bowl dishes at affordable prices.
In addition, the report shows that the new generation of consumers are more interested in the availability and cost-effectiveness of food, and the "lipstick effect" (the trend of preference for low-priced products) is becoming more prominent, and the reduction of future income expectations has made cheap non-essential items play a role in comforting consumers.
This phenomenon shows that in the future catering market, people's consumption tendency will gradually return to the basics, and excessive marketing is no longer a universal means of drainage. The simplicity, pragmatism, and localization of the "Fourth Consumption Era" began to emerge. Consumers will prefer high-quality, cost-effective dining experiences.
"The choice of group buying and limited-time promotions for high-end restaurants is some adjustments made in response to changes in China's consumer thinking and consumption habits. In the case of low consumption, high-end catering should not only emphasize the quality-price ratio, but also consider the cost performance. Zhu Danphong agrees with this trend and predicts that there will be more room for price reductions in high-end restaurants in the future.
Reporter|Bi Yuanyuan, Song Meilu, Editor|Lu Xiangyong, Wen Duo, Du Bo
Proofreading|Duan Lian
|National Business Daily nbdnews original article|
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