Hong Kong Café, Choles Floral could be demolished for 113-unit apartment building on Regent Street

A proposed 113-unit apartment building for Regent Street would take the place of two longtime businesses on the busy corridor: Hong Kong Café and Choles Floral Company.

Terry Leung, owner of Hong Kong Café, tells Isthmus in an interview that his decision to sell his building is largely financial. The building at 2. S. Mills Street was listed for sale at $3.58 million in 2024.

“Do you know why Porta Bella is closing?” asks Leung, referencing the 58-year old downtown Italian restaurant, soon to be replaced by student housing. In Leung’s view, “there will be more and more restaurants closing” this year.

“Everything is so expensive. Taxes are up. It`s hard to find labor,” says Leung. “Right now is about time to sell [our] building and say sayonara.” And, he says, he’s hoping to move “somewhere warmer.”...