Jaspa’s, Piccolos and Pepperonis close; owner liquidated

^{Where it all started}

Three of Sai Kung’s iconic, and long lived, restaurants closed Tuesday (26/7) as Castelo Concepts, shut nine of its eateries across Hong Kong after creditors pressed its investors into liquidation. Jaspa’s, Pepperonis and Piccolos shut down, along with six of the group’s other outlets – Jaspa’s Kennedy Town, K Town Bar & Grill, St. Bart’s and Ollie’s Cafe in Sai Ying Pun, and Little Lucie’s and the Wagyu Lounge in Happy Valley.

Five other outlets run by the group will continue to serve unaffected because they operate under different structures – St. Bart’s in Clear Water Bay, Tai Hang Bar & Grill in Tai Hang, and Zaks, Figo’s and MooFish in Discovery Bay.

^{Jaspa’s Photo: Open Rice}

The investors Castelo Investment Limited, Bringsky Investment Limited, Happy Dragon Hong Kong Limited and Max Ocean Group Limited went into liquidation, according to a statement.

The Labour Department called for the 130 affected employees to approach their nearest branch of the Labour Relations Division for assistance.

BUZZ has long reported on local Sai Kung company Castelo Concepts. It was founded by Wayne Parfitt in 1992, beginning with Pepperoni’s at Sai Kung in 1992, and was reputed to have over 90 restaurants, in Hong Kong and Vietnam at its height. According to the Company Registry, the shares of Castelo Investments Limited were originally jointly held by Wayne Parfitt and Andrea Jacquelyn Parfitt, and were transferred to Andrea in October 2019 when Wayne passed away.

^{Piccolos Photo: Open Rice}

As BUZZ posted in its obituary of Wayne in 2019, “Wayne was an energetic man with unstoppable drive. If one concept didn’t work, he’d shut it down and try another one. Witness the Ministry of Food in Sai Kung, now Piccolo’s. Wayne was an admirable man who would have a go at anything. He bought a cattle farm in Australia to provide steaks for his restaurant Wagyu. He set up Jaspas Beach Club in Sai Kung and after buying a family junk, created a fleet known as Jaspas Junks. Later Wayne shut down the junk operation grumbling about the high cost of maintenance. He had a go too at launching a Krispy Kreme chain in Hong Kong. It reached seven stores before the glow died and Wayne quit”.

^{Wayne Parfitt}

The street protests of 2019, followed by three years of the Covid-19 pandemic, forced many restaurants Hong Kong into financial difficulties, Castelo being the latest to succumb. The Hong Kong bar industry association said that they noticed the decrease in the number of people on weekends and the end of government subsidies, but the business volume dropped by 20% compared with the epidemic period.

According to notices published by the liquidators Briscoe Wong Advisory Limited, a meeting of creditors of the affected companies will be convened on 8 August.