Clear Cut: The Tree Among Latest Cluster of Forced Sanlitun Business Closures

Longstanding Beijing restaurant and bar The Tree will soon be uprooted, along with a number of other mainstays on the west side of Sanlitun's Sanlitun Houjie AKA Dirty Bar Street, as the razing of Beijing's road-side businesses continues.

The Tree owner Patrick De Smet tells the Beijinger that his restaurant's last day of operation will be Oct 15. He first announced the closure on Saturday via Wechat, posting on his moments:

"The end of The Tree is nearby! Yesterday we had word from our landlord that the rental contract's gonna be revoked by the government, and this not only for The Tree and the Friendship Youth Hostel but all they can get their hands on between north and south Taikoo Li. All this may happen within a month. Yes, for now, it's a rumor, but a big rumble, storm is coming!"

Later, when asked for further details by TBJ, De Smet said "It's confirmed now. They revoked all contracts – The Tree, La Dolce Vita, Smugglers, Pure Girl, and so on."

The businesses he listed are just a few of the remaining bars and restaurants after recent renovations and closures began on the colloquially named Dirty Bar Street strip's west side this past spring. Interestingly, all of the businesses De Smet mentioned are on the west side of the strip, or accessed via a nearby gateway (though subsequent renovations have affected both sides, what with scaffolding being erected every which way and much of the strip's pavement being torn up). TBJ has asked a few other businesses on the strip for comment, but have yet to hear back (though we'll update this blog accordingly when we do).

Equally noteworthy: Some of dirty bar street's most popular businesses, including Biteapitta, weren't mentioned by De Smet or his landlord as being targeted for closure. Biteapitta owner Avi Shabtai corroborated that by telling TBJ he "didn't get any news."

The loss of The Tree is arguably the most noteworthy closure in the area yet, especially more so than much of the worse for ware shops and clubs on Dirty Bar Street's west side. Tucked in a nook just off the strip, De Smet's business ranked high in TBJ's Pizza Cup voting in years past, thanks to its use of a wood-fired oven, one of the first Beijing pizza kitchens to do so. De Smet's additional feats include opening other iterations of The Tree in the vicinity, along with being a forebearer of imported beer from his native Belgium and working as a trailblazer in Trans-Siberian train travel with his Monkey Business Tours (all of which you can read about in our profile of De Smet here, not to mention our coverage of Groovy Schiller's teaming with De Smet at his former Nearby The Tree digs on Sanlitun Nanlu here). De Smet has been head of the business for a staggering 17 years, transforming it from what started as The Hidden Tree, which was founded by Katrien Costenoble in 1996.

In a city where many small businesses struggle to survive for a fraction of that time, The Tree's multi-year run certainly stands as an undeniable success. While De Smet says he doesn't have new plans for a follow-up business just yet, he hasn't ruled out such plans out either. For now, he's still reeling from the sudden news of the closure, however,  telling us simply: "The notice given is a reflection of the sad truth in this country: m2 x ¥ = ?".

Regardless, there's little time before The Tree topples, meaning its throngs of longtime patrons better stop by soon for one last wood-fired pizza and, better yet, a Belgian beer to toast one of Beijing's best veteran establishments.

Photos: Pixnet, the Beijinger