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Successes of theme cafés in Hong Kong, such as the Hello Kitty Café, Rainforest Café, Planet Holly- wood and Igor’s, may show that Hong Kong people find this new type of café interesting and enjoyable.

Nevertheless, according to Mr. Christopher Lenz, owner of Igor’s, the situation is completely different.

“Hong Kong people think that the quality of food is the most important,” said Mr. Lenz.

“People from other countries are concerned about the whole dining experience rather than food quality,” said Mr. Lenz.

Mr. Lenz used Hard Rock Café as an example.

“The Hard Rock Café in Hong Kong closed recently and had only been open for about 4 years,” said Mr. Lenz.

“However, the one in Singapore has been open for about 10 years and is still doing good business,” said Mr. Lenz.

“Hong Kong people like to try new things and this is the main reason why theme cafés are successful now,” said Mr. Lenz.

Mr. Lenz started Igor’s 2 years ago. He came up with this idea in 1997.

“I decide to open a theme café because an ordinary café bores me and is unexciting,” said Mr. Lenz.

Mr. Lenz admitted that Hong Kong was not the perfect location for Igor’s.

“I chose Hong Kong because I have lived here for about 10 years. I know the rules. I know the people. I know the market,” said Mr. Lenz.

“It seemed logical to start my business here,” said Mr. Lenz. Horror is the theme of Igor’s.

“Horror is an exciting theme. It is universal. Everybody understands it,” explained Mr. Lenz.

Igor’s is not a normal theme café. Actually, it is a dinner-theatre café.

“In normal theme cafés, you choose food from the menu, you eat and you leave,” said Mr. Lenz.

“But in Igor’s, there are musical shows, dancing, a live band and theme tour. I think Igor’s is more like an entertainment café,” said Mr. Lenz.

Customers from the Kowloon side could go to Igor’s on the “Transylvania Express”, which is a double-decker, open top bus. There is a bus terminus in Tsim Sha Tsui. Customers then experience a theme tour. They are led and entertained through different scenes.

These scenes include the Endless Corridor, the Cylinder of Death, the Haunted House and the Garden of Doom.

Finally, customers are invited to a make-up room where they can get their faces painted.

After the theme tour, customers arrive at the main restaurant area. The main restaurant area was also specially decorated to give customers the feeling of horror. It is a replica of a medieval castle’s dining hall with long wooden tables and benches, long chandeliers, antique paintings with strange twists and colourful old flags.

Igor’s does not have a menu, but customers have a choice of nine appetizers, four main courses and nine desserts to choose from.

One of the characteristics of this three-course set dinner buffet is that the food is served on long platters using the patented “lazy Lenz” system.

“There is a trolley on each table. The platter is placed on the trolley. The trolley then slides up and down the length of the table. Then, even though the table is so long, all customers can be served,” explained Mr. Lenz.

“This system is the first of its kind in Hong Kong,” Mr. Lenz said proudly.

There are also musical shows between courses.

On this particular day, when all the food was served, a live band called “The Rolling Bones” began to perform.

At the same time, customers were given a green glowing “bone”, which was actually a noisemaker. They were required to shake the “bone”, dance on the benches and sing with the band.

Mr. Lenz said that Igor’s was unique in Hong Kong.

“Igor’s differs from other cafés in a number of ways: the way you book the café, the way you enter the café, the way you eat and the way you are served,” said Mr. Lenz.

“In addition, theme cafés like the Rainforest Café, Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Café are American concepts. However, Igor’s is the only one that is originally a Hong Kong idea,” said Mr. Lenz.

Apart from the decorations, there are other aspects that go with the theme.

“All waiters and waitresses dress in horror costumes and have scary make-up on their faces,” said Mr. Lenz.

“For the food we serve, take roast beef as an example, there will be a skull and a broken arm beside it, just like a dead body of human,” said Mr. Lenz, laughing.

The live band is also specially designed to suit the theme.

“The Rolling Bones wear black costumes with bones, thus they look like skeletons singing and dancing on the stage,” said Mr. Lenz.

Mr. Lenz said that Igor’s does not have a specific target market.

“Our customers range from 18 to 60 years old. Our real target markets are groups,” said Mr. Lenz.

“Igor’s is good for club dinners and all kinds of parties,” said Mr. Lenz.

“For instance, 17 graduation parties took place at Igor’s last year,” said Mr. Lenz.

Mr. Lenz then compared Igor’s with hotels for holding graduation parties.

“You can travel on a double-decker, open top bus and you can enjoy a theme tour, a three-course set dinner buffet, musical shows, live band and dancing,” said Mr. Lenz.

“For the same price in a hotel, you may have a buffet in a banquet room. If you want a live band, then you have to pay extra. You want to have a musical show, forget it!” said Mr. Lenz.

Nevertheless, Mr. Lenz admitted that they also have weaknesses.

“There are altogether 220 seats in Igor’s. As we have to ensure that all customers are served at the same time, we cannot guarantee the quality of food,” said Mr. Lenz.

“Our food is good, but not excellent. We do not sell food, we sell fun,” Mr. Lenz said confidently.

Although the Igor’s Café in Stanley has received positive comments, Mr. Lenz said that the new Igor’s Café damaged the name of Igor’s.

“The Igor’s Café in Stanley opened only 1 year ago. The two cafés differ a lot,” said Mr. Lenz.

“The Igor’s Café is an ordinary theme café. No musical shows, no live bands and no dancing,” said Mr. Lenz.

“People who have gone to the Igor’s Café expect the same thing here. However, that is not what we want to provide,” said Mr. Lenz.

Igor’s is a member of the Hong Kong Tourist Association.

“The Hong Kong Tourist Association recommends Igor’s to tourists. About 10 tourists come every night,” said Mr. Lenz.

He believes that as Igor's becomes more better known, more tourists will be attracted.

Mr. Lenz plans to open another Igor’s restaurant at a better location. He chose this location for its low rent initially. Two busy nights per week are enough for Igor's survival.

“However, I am confident that if Igor’s moves to a busier location, like Tsim Sha Tsui, our business will be greatly improved,” said Mr. Lenz.

Although there are many theme restaurants open now, Mr. Lenz believes that it will not become a major trend.

“Theme restaurants have to struggle to survive, especially in Hong Kong. If Hong Kong has two Igor’s, both businesses will suffer,” said Mr.Lenz.

Mr. Keith Poon is a customer of Igor’s.

“My foreign friends recommend this theme restaurant to me. This type of restaurant is unique in Hong Kong, but is not a strange thing in foreign countries,” said Mr. Poon.

“I learned about this restaurant from a Hong Kong magazine. I like the musical shows. This restaurant gives me a Western feeling,” said Mr. Stanley Lu, a tourist from Mainland China.

Miss Vicky Chan also gave a favorable review.

“I love the atmosphere of this restaurant. All people are dressed in costumes,” said Miss Chan.