Restaurateur converts bus into barbecue to skirt ban  

北京一烧烤店为避城管公交上开大排档 被令整改

近日，记者在通州区新华联家园南区底商的“胖子小馆”看到，原先的露天烧烤摊位不见了，而一辆经过简单改装的公交车停在门前的停车位上。据烧烤店老板介绍，最近城管整治露天烧烤，不让在外面支烧烤摊，于是他从公交公司买了这辆公交车供顾客就餐使用。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- A restaurant owner in Beijing has purchased a bus and transformed it into a dining room to evade the city's crackdown on open-air barbecues, the Beijing Morning Post observed on Tuesday.

With six tables, the bus-turned-dining room can hold 20 people. Although the space is cramped, the bus has still attracted diners eager to try a new eating experience.

The owner of the restaurant said he bought the bus from a local company for 45,000 yuan ($7,196).

"I bought the bus to provide an eating place for customers since outdoor grilling has been banned in Beijing," said the restaurant owner.

"Grilled foods are cooked inside our restaurant and offered to diners sitting 'within' the bus, so our business should not be called an 'outdoor snack' shop," the owner said.

However, the restaurant's business idea has been criticized by local residents for illegally occupying public places.

The urban management department of Tongzhou district said they had received reports from local residents who said the crowded and unhygienic conditions in the bus may be hazardous for diners.

The department said they had ordered the owner of the restaurant to suspend business.