Historic tea house Lin Heung Lau reopens after 2 years

Lin Heung Lau (蓮香樓), an ancient Chinese tea house that closed down in 2022 due to the pandemic, has reopened for a trial operation at its original location in Central.

“Scheduled for 1 April 2024, the trial operation will commence at 6 am. In the initial trial phase, we kindly request your understanding for any errors or omissions that may occur,” according to Lin Heung Lau’s Facebook post on Monday (1 April 2024).

In addition to serving traditional dim sum carts, Lin Heung Lau has also opened a tea beverage shop called Lin Heung Tea (蓮香茶) on the ground floor of the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Lin Heung Lau has also clarified that it is owned and operated by New Golden, which is a separate entity, independently managed and operated and not financially related to the previous owners of the former Lin Heung Lau Restaurant. 

“Therefore, Lin Heung Food Trading Company and HK Lin Heung Trading Company wish to clarify that the new restaurant is in no way associated with the previous owners of the Lin Heung Lau Restaurant, and its operations will not be impacted by the former establishment’s operations in any material way,” its Facebook statement reads. 

A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on Lin Heung Lau’s Facebook post that announcing its reopening has sparked discussions among netizens. While some expressed their surprise and pledged support, some expressed doubt about the authenticity of the reopening announcement, given that it was made on April Fool's Day.

Media intelligence firm CARMA saw over 322 mentions with 36.8% positive and 0% negative sentiments after Lin Heung Lau's reopening. Before the announcement, it had 24 mentions from Hong Kong. After the announcement on 1 April 2024, conversations about Lin Heung Lau were 12.8% positive and 9.6% negative.

Keywords associated with the reopening of Lin Heung Lau include "time-honored brand" (老字號), "close down" (結業) and April Fool’s Day” (愚人節). 

Meanwhile, social monitoring firm Meltwater saw a total number of 89 mentions across social platforms, with 6.7% positive sentiments 23.6% negative sentiments and 69.7% neutral sentiments.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Lin Heung Lau for a statement. 

Don’t miss: Lin Heung tea houses shut down due to lost sales under pandemic

Back in August 2022, Lin Heung Lau and another ancient Chinese tea houses 蓮香棧 shut down due to a rapid fall in sales during the pandemic.

According to a statement on Lin Heung Group’s Facebook on 8 August 2024, both 蓮香樓 and 蓮香棧 confirmed to cease operation as of 8 August 2022, however Lin Heung Kui (蓮香居) in Sheung Wan will continue serving traditional dim sum. The statement concluded by thanking their supporters and consumers for visiting over the years.

Lin Heung Lau has a history of more than 100 years. It was formerly known as a Guangzhou cake shop and transformed into a specialised tea house in 1910. It was later renamed as Lin Heung Lau because a scholar Chen Ruyue praised the tea house’s lotus paste for its delicious taste. In 1918, Lin Heung Lau launched in Hong Kong, and the two-storey tea house has since then situated at Wellington Street in Central.

Photo courtesy: Lin Heung Lau's Facebook and Instagram pages

Join us this coming 26 June for Content360 Hong Kong, a one-day-two-streams extravaganza under the theme of "Content that captivates". Get together with our fellow marketers to learn about AI in content creation, integration of content with commerce and cross-border targeting, and find the recipe for success within the content marketing world! 

Related articles:

Dah Chong Hong to shut 28 retail stores across HK
City Super’s CookedDeli in TST shuts down after 22 years
Harvey Nichols to close Landmark store due to weak retail spending