Celebrity chef Guy Fieri's widely publicized Times Square restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen & Bar, will close its doors on Dec. 31. The restaurant gained notoriety when it received a scathing review from the New York Times' Pete Wells in 2012.
When Fieri opened his restaurant in the fall of 2012, Anthony Bourdain trashed the restaurant, and then came the zero-star review from Wells, who wrote: "When you hung that sign by the entrance that says, WELCOME TO FLAVOR TOWN!, were you just messing with our heads? Does this make it sound as if everything at Guy's American Kitchen & Bar is inedible? I didn't say that, did I?"
In spite of the negativity, Fieri tied for first place at the New York Wine and Food Festival's Burger Bash, reports Eater, and in 2016, fans gathered for the first annual FieriCon, a Fieri-themed pub crawl.
Though the "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" host did not reveal why the restaurant was closing, he released a statement to CBS News saying, "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. 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."
Chrissy Teigen, who once dressed as Fieri for Halloween, mourned the restaurant's closing on Twitter.
In a 2016 interview with CBS News, Fieri denied subsisting on greasy food and said, "I eat a lot of kale salad! Farro. I came in last night from California and went to a deli -- in New York, you can get a salad made to order anywhere -- and I had every bean that they had with artichoke hearts and beets. I eat a lot more pure and clean than people imagine and I'm not saying I do something different on the show."
He also said of his look and lifestyle, "I didn't do the look to be on TV and I don't keep the look because I'm on TV. It's just the way that I like to look ... I'm not doing anything for anybody. I'm doing what I do."
