Cover Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, speaking at the LEAP East tech conference in July 2026 (Photo: courtesy of LEAP East)
Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, speaking at the LEAP East tech conference in July 2026 (Photo: courtesy of LEAP East)
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At 77, the teetotal ‘Father of Lan Kwai Fong’ insists the popular clubbing district is only evolving to keep up with younger, healthier trends
Where once champagne-soaked bankers in suits packed the bars and clubs of Lan Kwai Fong—the compact grid of sloping streets in Hong Kong’s Central district that has served as the city’s premier nightlife quarter for four decades—the district has weathered a wave of closures amid a shift in drinking habits. Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, would like you to know that reports of the nightlife hub’s death are exaggerated. Lan Kwai Fong, he argues, is in the process of transitioning into a new season, and he’s undaunted by the prospect of change.
“Everything in the world is fashion. Whether it’s movies, whether it’s media, whether it’s an event like this…it’s all about fashion, constantly changing,” he told Tatler on the sidelines of the LEAP East conference in July.
Prior to his career as a property owner and developer, Zeman, a Tatler Asia's Most Influential honouree, started in the fashion industry in Montreal, Canada, working for a women’s lingerie company; by 19, he had made his first million dollars and set up his own business importing garments from Hong Kong. He moved to the city in 1975 and founded Colby International, a clothing sourcing and supply-chain business that was among the first to procure apparel from mainland China; he and his partner sold it to rival Li & Fung in 2000 for HK$2.2 billion.
“I grew up in the fashion business for 30 years, actually, from the age of 16, and fashion changes all the time. Technology is no different, especially AI,” he says. “Growing up in the fashion industry really taught me to think ahead and think what’s coming. I’ve always embraced the future, and it has been one of the secrets of my success.”
Read more: Allan Zeman Talks About That Viral WhatsApp Message and Why He’ll Never Give Up on Hong Kong
Above Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, speaking at the LEAP East tech conference in July 2026 (Photo: courtesy of LEAP East)
Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, speaking at the LEAP East tech conference in July 2026 (Photo: courtesy of LEAP East)
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A decline and reinvention
Clubbing is arguably falling out of style in the city. The Hong Kong Bar and Club Association reported that approximately 120 bars, roughly 10 per cent of the city’s total, closed in the first six months of 2025 alone, and nearly 80 per cent of remaining bars had negotiated rent reductions of 20 to 30 per cent simply to stay open. Notable casualties have included stalwarts Liberty Exchange, Stockton and The Envoy, which made the inaugural Asia’s 50 Best Bars Awards in 2016.
Then there is the appeal of Shenzhen, or partying in the mainland: cross-boundary traffic hit a record 1.34 million trips in a single day in August 2025, according to Hong Kong immigration figures, and the city’s bars now compete with an entire neighbouring nightlife economy at a lower price point. The expat crowd that once filled LKF has been largely replaced by mainland Chinese visitors, and a Chongqing hot pot chain now operates inside California Tower itself.
But Zeman’s diagnosis goes deeper than demographics: “A lot of young people are not drinking anymore,” he says. “They’re trying to watch their health. So we’re trying to move with the times.”
Hence, his vision for opening “health and wellness” facilities at California Tower, blended with new venues. “It’s about entertainment, it’s about technology, it’s about healthcare, it’s about AI—all in that one building,” Zeman adds. There are restaurants “from all over China”, karaoke lounges “packed every night”, and a club newly arrived from Bangkok that runs alcohol-light Sunday afternoon events for younger patrons. Six floors belong to a fitness operator, which has just opened a new level for ice baths.
Read more: Wellness trends to embrace in 2026, from night-sky connectedness to hormone health
Going out, more healthily
A pivot to wellness is personal for Zeman, who claims to be completely sober. “Never drank any alcohol in my life,” he says. “I’ve always loved water, and I just drink water. I sell a lot of alcohol.” At mainland banquets, where toasts are close to compulsory, he demurs with a practised line: “I tell them, sorry, I have a health problem...I would love to drink with you, but cannot.”
Running a bar empire without tasting the product requires delegation. “I hire people that love to drink and know a lot about alcohol. I’ve always had great F&B managers,” Zeman says. “I don’t have to experience the taste, but I can see what’s selling. You can see exactly what’s moving faster—is it vodka now, is it gin now.”
His abstinence dates to childhood, when his father died of a heart attack. “I really grew up without a father, basically. And I learned at a young age: eat healthy, and start exercising every day.” He has exercised 90 minutes a day for more than 50 years—including the morning of this interview, after a day trip to Guangzhou and a head-table dinner the night before. He wakes at five, and judges hotels by their gyms: “I never look at the hotel room. What is the gym like? What equipment do they have?”
The regimen also explains his indifference to being 77 in a young person’s district. “No matter my age, I don’t feel as old. I feel as young as they do. If I’m with people my age, I have no connection, because I really feel that they’re old.” At a recent conference, he heard researchers discuss extending human life to 120. “I said, I’m going to go to 140.”
He points to generational turnover as evidence the district will come back. “Many people grew up there, and they now have children—and now their children are going there. It’s funny to watch the evolution,” Zeman says. “It’s a totally different world. So you constantly have to feel it.”
“It’s a fact of life because everyone wants to be in fashion. Everyone wants to look younger, dress with the right clothes—and that’s what makes the world go round. Thank God for that.”
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Cat Wang is an editor at Tatler Asia based in Hong Kong, where she covers business, wealth, innovation, and impact. Previously, she was a Forbes Asia reporter and assistant editor of the Forbes Asia 100 to Watch list, spotlighting startups and small companies on the rise across the Asia-Pacific. She began her career as a trainee reporter at the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s newspaper of record. Born in New York City, she graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a B.A. in political science.
