After three decades of dim sum and wedding banquets, Floata Seafood Restaurant has shut its doors for good.
The City of Vancouver has terminated the lease of the 1,000-seat Chinatown Plaza restaurant, with a notice posted on October 24 officially ending what started as a temporary closure back in September.
The termination notice, signed by city officials, gives Floata until October 31 to clear out completely.
It cites unpaid rent, removal rights for items in the space, and potential legal action for “outstanding amounts, costs, and damages.”
This comes after the restaurant’s lease originally expired on September 30.
According to the report by Global News, the city said Floata had been operating on an overhold basis since then.
But despite ongoing talks about a potential new lease, things fell apart over capital investment requirements and unpaid rent that goes back to COVID-era rental support.
Since opening in 1995 as the anchor tenant in the city-owned Chinatown Plaza, Floata wasn’t just another dim sum spot.
It was the biggest Chinese restaurant in the province, with those 1,000 seats making it the only venue in the city that could handle massive wedding banquets and Lunar New Year celebrations outside of hotel ballrooms.
The closure highlights ongoing troubles of Chinatown and the rest of the downtown core, with many restaurants and businesses unable to survive.
There has also been a pattern of longtime restaurants shuttering.
Just this year, the city lost Ole Chicken (12 years), Victoria Chinese Restaurant (33 years), Lombardo’s Pizzeria (39 years), Flamingo (50 years), Mr. Red Cafe (10 years), Babylon Cafe Commercial (13 years), and more.
But now that Floata is gone, the City of Vancouver seems to be looking to the future and see who will be taking over this massive space.
Or wil it sit empty like so many other units in Chinatown?
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Address: 180 Keefer Street, Vancouver BC