Kai Kai Dessert in Jordan claims it has been forced to move after their landlord increased rent by 120 percent following their Michelin recommendation last month, Metro Daily reported today.
The landlord of the Parkes Street location reportedly gave the Cantonese dessert shop a notice that rent will be raised from HKD100,000 per month to HKD220,000 when the lease is up for renewal next year.
Second-generation owner of Kai Kai Dessert, Chiu Wing-ken, said he was shocked by the news. “We would have to sell 11,578 bowls of dessert just to pay for the rent,” he lamented.
Chiu’s father, who founded the dessert shop, was apparently unable to sleep from worry when he heard about the rent hike. While Chiu had reportedly wanted to pack up shop, he searched for a new location to avoid disappointing his father.
Thankfully, Kai Kai’s bowls of hearty Cantonese dessert soups have apparently won them lifelong loyalty from customers, as one devoted fan has gallantly offered to rent out his space in Ning Po Street to Chiu with a family and friends discount (a.k.a. mates’ rates), at HKD90,000 a month.
Chiu said Kai Kai’s sharp increase in rent could be caused by their recommendation in the new street food section of the Michelin Guide last month, and remarked that it would be “ironic” if they lost customers who could not find them based on the address listed in the guide.
Coconauts and Michelin devotees alike have until March 2016 to fill their bellies with Kai Kai’s traditional Cantonese desserts at the Parkes Street location.
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