Fame is fleeting, and it seems like Salt Bae is learning that the hard way.
The onetime internet sensation has closed another of his New York restaurants, Eater NY reported on Tuesday. Salt Bae’s Nusr-Et Steakhouse in the Meatpacking District has shuttered, as his company shifts its focus to international markets.
“They tried some markets out,” a spokesperson for the Nusr-Et restaurant group told Eater. “Some worked, while others haven’t.”
Salt Bae (né Nusret Gökçe) opened the downtown steakhouse in 2022 as a follow-up to the Nusr-Et location in Midtown. That outpost opened its doors in 2018, much closer to when Salt Bae was at his peak when it comes to internet influencing. While reviews of the restaurant weren’t that great, Salt Bae had enough cachet to make his businesses appeal to the masses—and in fact, the Midtown location is still open, meaning that it’s now the personality’s only restaurant in New York.
The closing of the Meatpacking District steakhouse shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise: Last summer, Salt Bae similarly shuttered his burger restaurant Salt Bae Burger. That spot was widely panned for its offerings like $99 milkshakes and veggie burgers that were free for women. Nusr-Et Steakhouse may have been slightly better received, but not enough to give the second location any staying power in a city certainly not lacking in steak restaurants.
Since bringing his culinary talents (if you can call them that) to New York some six years ago, Salt Bae and his restaurant group have also faced a few legal challenges. In 2019, Eater noted, a former server filed a lawsuit against Salt Bae, saying that he had been taking worker tips. And in 2021, employees filed a suit pertaining to overtime wages at his restaurants in New York and Miami. (The former resulted in a $300,000 settlement, and the latter was dismissed, Eater wrote.)
While Salt Bae may no longer have as strong of a presence in New York, his restaurant empire encompasses more than 30 spots around the globe. And even without the N.Y.C. establishments, the United States is the group’s second-largest market, according to Eater. New Yorkers may have had enough of the internet personality and his over-the-top seasoning, but Salt Bae still reigns supreme in some corners of the country.
