The Heart's Coming Back to Old Town
Big chains shifting small businesses
Community – it’s a word Sai Kungers use with feeling to describe the special nature of this area over others in Hong Kong. It encompasses a feeling of belonging that is perhaps fostered by a shared interest in the beauty of the environment in which we live (whether it’s our adopted home or the home of our ancestors), the friendliness of shop-keepers and restaurateurs, and the low population density which helps us to “know” every fifth passerby.
Such individually trivial activities as asking George at Butcher King to order a special cheese for you, waving at Dev in Italiano’s or asking advice of the druggist in Wing Ling Dispensary on the way to meeting up with friends for a glass of wine at Bacco all add up to that feeling of very special community.
Although considered a ‘sleepy little village’ by others in Hong Kong, Sai Kung has a vibrant local retail economy through its al fresco restaurants (so casual that, at times, public and private space seem to overlap), small and unique shops, and business owners who have a firm tie to the district. The rich mix of local, regional and western business owners adds to its charm.
The latest influx of chain stores such as Saint Honore Bakery, U Right and Starbucks has created apprehension for many Sai Kung residents that the trend will continue. When signs for the coffee chain and yet another 7-Eleven went up in place of the established community names of Sai Kung Laundry & Dry Cleaning, Steamers and Sun Zip – warning bells went off. Residents were well aware that landlords had forced increases in rent that only the chains could afford to pay.
But are these rent increases sustainable and, indeed, is a Sai Kung coloured with international brands a sustainable community?
Residents have already been heard to mutter that if Sai Kung becomes “just like any other part of Hong Kong, I’m moving out”. And visitors to the town don’t come to see shops that are the same as what they see in their own neighbourhood, they come for the differences. They not only come for seafood at Tung Kee, they also come because they can “drink in” the ambience along the waterfront along the waterfront, go for a fresh-roasted coffee at Colour Brown and then drop in to check out the Italian wine specials at Appetito and Bel Vino.
But – hold on….where did Steamers go? They’ve opened on the outskirts of Old Town. Even its old neighbour, the laundry, set up a shop and their cleaning facilities in Old Town while maintaining a small shop front on Chan Man Street (at many times the price). As rents rise to the north, Explore expects to get many more locally owned shops as neighbours. With the government initiative underway to revitalize Old Town (and their apparent directive to retain the character of the bygone era) and local owners recognizing the value of upgrading their properties (such as the beautiful renovation of the building at Chui Tong Road car park in front of the typhoon shelter), Old Town will again be the place to be.
Explore believes our “special community” is here to stay – it’ll just shift, gradually, to the original centre of town.