The first ever Shanghai Michelin Guide set the town on fire with its release earlier this week, raining 26 stars on a selection dominated by Cantonese and French restaurants.
You'd think the gaining of a star, among the most prestigious accolades a restaurant can achieve, would be good for business. But sadly that's not the case with German chef Stefan Stiller's exclusive 28-seater restaurant, Tai'an Table.
Despite being kitted out with a state-of-the-art kitchen (rumored to have cost somewhere around the RMB6 million mark), they've been forced to close just two days after receiving their first star, according to QQ News.
The reason? No operating license – the same fate that forced dozens of Yongkang Lu establishments to shutter in August.
Says Stiller in a statement released today:
"With the release of the first Michelin Guide for the Chinese mainland and Shanghai we have been very surprised and also happy to be awarded with one Michelin Star for Tai'an Table.
When my friend and business partner Ji Wen Yuan and I started this project early this year our idea and concept was to build a small place to entertain our friends and to have some foodies and chef friends around to create new and creative dishes.
We certainly never intentionally planned to violate any rules, regulations and laws. Since Tai'an Table was planned as a private place, the size of the kitchen and the layout is not according to the local regulations and was also limiting our capacity.
After we noticed the great demand and success of our concept we decided to relocate the restaurant to a larger space where we can apply to all required licenses. Constructions and renovations are under progress.
The new space will have a larger kitchen, and we have more capabilities to work better and increase our quality.
I apologize to all loyal guests who have booked seats already for the coming weeks. The plan was to move seamlessly to the new location once constructions are completed, but the recent circumstances forced us to have a break.
We will be back to business in our new location soon and we hope to see you there again.
Our team will have a creative break, and we are available for pop-ups, private dinners and guest chef nights.
Add Tai'an Table to your Wechat to be updated and posted about the opening schedule of ‘Taian Table 2.0’."
As many in the Shanghai F&B biz will know, gaining the appropriate licenses for restaurant operation can be a notoriously lengthy and difficult process, taking anywhere from two to four months, even in a designated commercial building.
Here's hoping Tai'an Table's new location will open swiftly.
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