Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Hong Kong restaurant turns into co-working space on weekdays to fill room as lunch crowd disappears

Second Draft, a gastropub in Tai Hang neighbourhood, keeps lunch menu away to turn itself into co-working space to overcome challenges. Lunch earned less than it cost to serve, owner Rohit Dugar says
Some of Hong Kong’s business community have had to tweak their operating model as local economic conditions worsened. For restaurant operator Rohit Dugar, that means keeping away the lunch menu at Second Draft as crowds dwindled on weekdays.

The gastropub, which Dugar opened in Tai Hang neighbourhood some three years ago used to serve creative fusion dishes on weekdays until January. In May, he decided to turn the idle 2,000 square-foot space in the restaurant into a co-working office.

“Lunch earned less than it cost to serve,” he said. Providing hot-desking facility did not require a lot of additional input and “we have to pay the rent anyway, why not get the space utilised?” he said.

Second Draft now offers its floor space from 9am to 5pm to MilkGarage, a company that manages a network of co-working facilities in 12 locations under a membership programme. The restaurant still serves diners on weekends.

To be sure, Dugar said the repurpose at Second Draft was meant to offer those “unused hours” to the MilkGarage community to create a buzz and liven up the place, not so much a reaction to recent economic slump. His business group, called Young Master, continues to operate craft brewery and its related ecosystem of taprooms and events, and does not intend to diversify into the competitive co-working business. In Hong Kong, co-working has become an overcrowded market as operators jumped onto the bandwagon. WeWork, recently bailed out by SoftBank, operates eight hubs in key business districts and plans to open four more by the year-end, even if the stumbling start-up is still losing money. The Executive Centre shelved its stock listing plan last quarter. Other operators may have to pull out, according to Savills.

Street protests have helped pushed Hong Kong’s economy into a technical recession in the third quarter, government officials have said, and may even contract on a full-year basis in 2019. Among telltale signs, retail spending has slumped while tourist arrivals shrank. Restaurant receipts have declined 30 per cent to 50 per cent since June, according to Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trade.

It is unfortunate to see underutilised space in Hong Kong where office rent is the highest in the world, according to Wu Fangyu, founder and chief executive of MilkGarage. She is talking to more restaurant and office owners to repurpose their assets and join her network of “affordable” hot-desking facilities.

“It is such a waste when we see those high-rental properties close during the day due to low foot traffic,” said Wu. “We all assume that Hong Kong is full and busy, but that is not true in some areas like Tai Hang and Sheung Wan. Landlords and business owners are more willing to be more creative” under the current tough business climate, she said.

MilkGarage has 10 stations across the city, including two restaurant-cum-hotdesk properties and eight stations through link-ups with other co-working operators. They are located in Central, Causeway Bay and Sheung Wan. Wu expects to expand the total stations to 12 by year end.

A MilkGarage member Champ Suthipongchai finds the facilities and locations convenient when he was interviewed while working in the co-working place recently.

“When I am in Hong Kong, I have to run from meeting to meeting and always struggle to find space to work in between them,” said Suthipongchai, general partner at Creative Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. “With a pass to every location around town, I can always just look up where I can best go to and keep myself efficient throughout the day.”

Second Draft still serves lunch on weekends in Tai Hang. The hang-out is also typically abuzz at night with neighbourhood residents seeking out its innovative craft beers. Dugar is hopeful it can also attract daytime business folks who thrive on flexible office arrangements.

“People will get familiar with our place, and those who are curious will come to the neighbourhood,” he added.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
×