Popular city yum cha joint shuts its doors

It is one of Brisbane’s most well-known and loved Chinese restaurants but after more than 30 years in business, the King of Kings has closed.

FORTITUDE Valley’s iconic Chinese restaurant King of Kings looks to have fallen victim to the fears surrounding coronavirus, closing its door last week after more than 30 years in business.

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The famous dim sum haunt - known for its stacked yum cha trolleys and loaded lazy susans - was believed to be suffering from significant reduced trade as diners avoid Chinese precincts across the country in the wake of the deadly coronavirus.

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King of Kings restaurant has shut down after more than 30 years in business.

Owners of the restaurant were unable to be contacted by The Courier-Mail, with the restaurant’s phone number and email disconnected. But other local eateries in the Chinatown precinct have reported patronage drops of up to 60 per cent since the infection made global headlines, with many businesses forced to cut hours and reduce staff.

King of Kings was one of the city’s most popular yum cha restaurants. Picture: David Kelly

Brisbane’s Sunnybank has been suffering similar drops in customers, while even high end Chinese restaurants such as Stanley at Howard Smith Wharves and Brisbane CBD’s Donna Chang have reported multiple booking cancellations.

With the majority of restaurants running only at a two to four per cent profit margin, it is feared this loss of trade could prove dire for many eateries and lead to possibly more closures.

The King of Kings restaurant in Fortitude Valley.

“With any restaurant, you have a bad week or have a couple of bad weeks and it takes six months to get over that,” said Experience Sunnybank food tour operator Tony Ching.

“It’s so hard for the smaller owner-operator and they really need some more support.”