After Landlord Dispute, God Only Knows if We'll Ever Get Back Into Heaven

Everyone's favorite half-bar/half-liquor store Heaven Supermarket was shut down this morning as a dispute arose between the management of the popular 24-hour Sanlitun watering hole and its landlord.

This morning (Sep 8) at around 9.30am we walked by to find a group of people circling around the Xindong Lu venue's entrance, including three moving trucks and a rabble of movers. Piles of moving boxes stood outside. As curious reporters and responsible Sanlitun drinkers, we stopped by and nosed around.

One senior local told us that there was a rental issue, adding: "the landlord rented the place to someone else, so the new guy wants to push the Heaven people out."

A witness to the scene, who requested to remain anonymous, described how a crowd had gathered to watch the movers, and eventually several policemen also arrived. At that point, people involved in the dispute began shouting at each other. The movers continued to wait impatiently, milling around a sign on the cash desk saying "Temporarily Closed."

It may be that this is just part of a bigger move, as an advertisement has been doing the rounds via social media recently showing a mock-up of Heaven's potential new location on Gongti Xi Lu.

Long a Sanlitun staple since its opening in 2011, Heaven was where many a night owl started their evening ... or ended it. Its passionate following helped the bar earn numerous accolades, including Outstanding Beer Selection and Outstanding Student Hangout awards in our August Reader Bar & Club Awards.

Hopefully the notorious bar can find a way to stay open as it has never been lacking as a place to spot colorful characters, and if it really is gone for good, we'll certainly miss the mess.

Photos: Tracy Wang, anonymous interviewee