If your heart was set on trying some of Guy Fieri’s culinary masterpieces like the Buffalo Bleu-Sabi Chicken Wings or the Dragon's Breath Chili at his larger-than-life New York City eatery in the new year, we have some bad news for you.
Five years after taking Times Square by storm (and spurring an incredibly scathing, viral New York Times review), Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar, the Food Network star's only New York City restaurant, is closing.
Bye bye, Big Apple Flavor Town!
The restaurant, known for its over-the-top dishes with Fieri's signature fixings like Donkey Sauce, became a sort of ironic hipster promised land after food critic Pete Wells' review completely eviscerated the menu in a series of sarcastic questions posed to Fieri himself.
"Were you struck by how very far from awesome the Awesome Pretzel Chicken Tenders are?" the Times reviewer asks Fieri. "If you hadn’t come up with the recipe yourself, would you ever guess that the shiny tissue of breading that exudes grease onto the plate contains either pretzels or smoked almonds? Did you discern any buttermilk or brine in the white meat, or did you think it tasted like chewy air?"
If a review like that makes you extra curious to see what all the food writer anger is about, you wouldn't be alone. That review, rather than scaring people away, made it an anti-establishment mecca. Or maybe just a source of curiosity.
Despite its apparent success (in 2016, the restaurant reportedly raked in $17 million), the eatery is closing on New Year's Eve, but not without some final fireworks: An employee of the restaurant told Fox News that the restaurant's grand finale will be a blowout New Year's Eve bash complete with an open bar.
Why the restaurant is closing is not clear. “I’m proud that for over five and a half years, Guy’s American in New York City served millions of happy guests from all over the world," Fieri told TODAY Food in an emailed statement. "And upon the restaurant’s closing, I’d like to say thank you to all of the team members and guests who helped make it all happen."
Fieri is a pretty big TV star and still has many other restaurants, even on cruise ships, so we're pretty sure he'll be ok. Still, it all seems a bit sudden. Posters on Twitter, including celebrities like Chrissy Teigen, are already mourning the loss of the infamous restaurant:
Whether you dig his spiky hair or not, Fieri is still a beloved TV chef icon, and lately he's been using his celebrity for a good cause: by feeding victims and first responders of California wildfires.
Of course, if you really, really can't have enough Fieri in your life, you should probably just get one of these swimsuits with his face on it.