A Chinese hot pot restaurant has been forced to close its doors after an all-you-can-eat deal left it more than $100,000 in debt.

Key points: Restaurant fails to anticipate demand for $25, month-long all-you-can-eat deal

Restaurant fails to anticipate demand for $25, month-long all-you-can-eat deal Went bankrupt inside of two weeks after more than 500 people came every day

Went bankrupt inside of two weeks after more than 500 people came every day The owner admits they weren't great at management after ending up $100,000 in debt

Jiamener restaurant in the city of Chengdu shut its doors for good last week after customers took advantage of a $25 all-you-can-eat deal, the Chengdu Economic Daily reported.

Customers paid the fee and received a membership card that entitled them to unlimited food for the month.

Some customers reportedly shared their card around with family and friends, drastically increasing the volume of meals being consumed on a single purchase.

The neighbourhood restaurant never made it through the first month of the promotion, after it began receiving in excess of 500 customers a day after the deal commenced, with long queues forming before the doors opened and lasting till late into the evening past closing times.

Chinese social media lit up after the news of the restaurant closure broke.

"This [restaurant owner] is really careless, didn't think through," Weibo user Si Yan Du Bu said.

Another user, Shao Xingfeng, added: "The owner gets himself out of business.

"You would not dare to play this kind of thinking in China.

"[Customers] can eat till you're bankrupt."

Another user who went by the name "Come to shout together GY" said: "Never underestimate our Chinese appetite!"

A Weibo user's photo of the unfortunate restaurant, now quiet. ( Weibo )

Owner blames lack of business skill

Owners told the publication they anticipated losing some money, but thought they could accumulate more repeat customers in the process.

They also said they hoped to lower overall costs with other suppliers once they increased the volumes on their own food purchases.

Co-owner Su Jie said the main problem was a lack of business acumen on the part of owners, who had only opened the restaurant in December.

"The uncivilised behaviour of the diners was secondary — the main problem was our poor management," he told the Chengdu Economic Daily.

Hot pot is very popular in Chengdu, which has a population of more than 10 million people.

It is estimated there are about 20,000 hot pot restaurants dotted across the city.

According to data released by China's internet giant Sina, Chengdu residents spent $3 billion eating at hotpot restaurants in 2016 — more than $800 per person.