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The Butchers Club Burger opened its fourth Hong Kong outlet on April 29 with an epic outdoor party featuring live music, free beer and free burgers at the new location across the street from One Island East in Quarry Bay. If you weren’t one of the hundreds who rocked up, you already know it sucks to be you. Whether you were there or not, however, you probably don’t know how long it took The Butchers Club to turn what was previously an unassuming coffee shop into the area’s most happening burger joint.
The answer: just six weeks – technically around five thanks to the Easter and Ching Ming public holidays getting in the way. How on earth did they do that? We’re glad you asked.
Thankfully for you, curious Coconaut, Coconuts TV was invited to film the final fortnight of arguably the fastest and most outwardly chaotic turnaround in Hong Kong history.
Take a look and you’ll see what we mean:
Only two weeks before the opening, it looked unlikely that the guys were going to pull it off. There were bare wires coming out of the unpainted walls, crap EVERYWHERE and nothing that looked remotely like a place you’d like to eat in.
Just 24 hours before the much touted party, things didn’t look that much better, as sparks flew from a welder’s torch and wet concrete was slapped onto the unfinished ceiling.
When asked by Coconuts TV why he didn’t allow more time for the build out, The Butchers Club Managing Director and lovable rogue Jonathan Glover replied: “Because we’re paying god damn rent. I’m from Yorkshire. I don’t like paying rent and not operating.”
Hear dat, sir!
Tight northerners aside, you’ve really got to admire these guys for their aggression. The first Butchers Club Burger was opened in Wan Chai in June 2014, becoming an overnight success with hungry customers salivating around the block. Within six months, a second branch was opened on Wellington Street, Central, followed by the first international outlet in Bali, Indonesia. Most recently, the group also launched in Singapore just a month before opening its third Hong Kong location in Tsim Sha Tsui. All of these previous projects also reportedly had particularly short build times.
And just as before, on the day of the grand opening in Quarry Bay, everything somehow fell into place for this jammy bunch, with customers queuing to get a peek at the new venue and the Butchers Club once again coming up smelling of… well… burgers.
We’ll end on some breaking burger news. The Butchers Club is relocating the Central branch to a wicked spot on Stanley Street to create their first Cha Chaan Teng style eatery. Stay tuned for more info (and a cool little campaign) throughout the month of July, before the reopening party on August 5th.
Congrats guys. We don’t know how you do it, but you’ve done it again!
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