Food Republic to exit Beijing after 26 years of operations

After 26 years in Beijing's Oriental Plaza shopping mall, Food Republic's last Beijing outlet will close on Jun. 15 at 8pm.

According to Chinese digital media outlet Jiemian News on May 23, Food Republic placed a notice at the outlet's entrance announcing the closure.

The notice said that customers with membership or stored-value cards should process their refunds as soon as possible.

Jiemian News reported that the Beijing Oriental Plaza store was the first store in the capital and opened in 2000.

China's first Food Republic store opened in Shanghai in 1997.

Tenancy lease to expire

BreadTalk, the Singapore food and beverage company that owns the foodcourt chain, told The Straits Times (ST) that the closure was due to the expiry of the outlet's tenancy lease.

The company said it will focus on its network of nearly 20 Food Republic stores across China, especially in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

BreadTalk added that the Chinese market remains a core priority for the long-term development of Food Republic.

The company also told ST that it will focus on its stores in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Business plans

BreadTalk added that Food Republic will diversify its business model to deepen corporate partnerships and aims to partner with educational institutions and corporate headquarters in China to operate in-house cafeterias.

The company added that it aims to steadily expand in key markets such as Singapore, Thailand, and the UK.

According to Jiemian News, at Food Republic's peak, there were more than 40  outlets in mainland China.

Based on Food Republic's website, the foodcourt operator has 14 outlets in Singapore, and it also operates in Malaysia.