A popular shaved ice shop in Taipei City closed down unexpectedly on Saturday, disappointing many of its fans and tourists.
The shaved ice shop on Yongkang Street, named Ice Monster (冰館), is best known for its mango shaved ice.
Along with Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐), a famous dumpling house, the two shops have brought a lot of business to Yongkang Street, particularly tourists from Japan and Hong Kong, where guidebooks cover the shaved ice shop. Media reports said the shop attracted more than 1,000 people daily, with the number sometimes topping 3,000 on holidays.
PHOTO: CNA
While there was no public notice explaining why it was closed, it was rumored that the shop ceased operations because its owner, surnamed Lo (羅), was having trouble paying alimony to his ex-wife.
A man calling himself a friend of Lo’s ex-wife appeared in front of the shop on Saturday night, telling reporters that because Lo failed to pay his ex-wife alimony, she had people remove the ice-making machines and all other equipment from the shop.
A woman surnamed Peng (彭) selling orange juice next to the shop told reporters that she saw people removing ice-making equipment early on Saturday morning.
Lo was unavailable for comment.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LIN HSIEN-MEI AND CHEN YIN-TSUNG
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