Jay Chou's restaurant to close at the end of May

Jay Chou's Mr J French-Italian Restaurant has become a "must-go" place for his fans when they go to Taipei. PHOTOS: MR J FRENCH-ITALIAN RESTAURANT/FACEBOOK, JAY CHOU/INSTAGRAM

Even Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou's restaurant has not been spared by the coronavirus pandemic.

On Friday (May 1), the Mr J French-Italian Restaurant announced on Facebook that its last day of operation will be on May 31.

The restaurant, which is located on the grounds of Taipei Medical University, also reminded customers that the institution is restricting access to the campus due to the coronavirus pandemic. It said customers should inform the security guards that they are going to the restaurant so that staff from the restaurant can go to the entrance to receive them.

The eatery, which opened in 2007, was featured in Secret. The 2007 movie starred Chou, Gwei Lun-mei and Anthony Wong, and was also the directorial debut of Chou, now 41.

The restaurant has many items linked to Secret, including the piano and the desk seen in the movie. It plays Chou's songs in the background and has posters of the star on the wall.

The restaurant has also become a "must-go" place for Chou's fans when they go to Taipei, as he has held celebrations there when he won awards.

The restaurant is a joint venture between the singer-actor and his friends, and it used to have another branch in Taipei which closed in 2013.

Another eatery, Mr J Fujiwara Tofu Shop, linked to Chou's 2005 movie Initial D, a film adaptation of the Japanese manga series of the same name, closed in 2015.

Taiwanese actor-director Peter Ho's spa Hydro Mode also announced in April that it will close in late June due to a huge drop in the number of customers caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

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