What to Know
- Guy Fieri announced on Friday that Guy's American Kitchen and Bar in Times Square would be closing on New Year's Eve
- The 500-seat restaurant has been opened at West 44th Street near Seventh Avenue since 2012
- The Food Network star thanked the patrons and staffers for the restaurant's success in a statement
"Flavortown" is about to get a little less tasty.
Guy Fieri on Friday announced that his wildly popular -- and famously panned -- Times Square eatery, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, would be shutting its doors on New Year's Eve after more than five years in business.
"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," the celebrity food personality said in a statement to NBC. "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."
A representative for Fieri did not comment on the reason for the closure.
The eatery was estimated to be among the top 50 most profitable independent restaurants in the country over the last four years, according to Restaurant Business magazine. In 2017, the industry magazine reported Guy's American Kitchen and Bar took in about $17 million.
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Fieri's massive, 500-seat restauarant restaurant, like many at the Crossroads of the World, has been popular with the millions of tourists who visit New York City each year. It is his only eatery in New York City; the closest other ones owned by the Food Network host are in Atlantic City.
Among the restaurant's fans was model Chrissy Teigen, who tweeted about the restaurant after Eater first reported the closure.
"I'll swear on anything that I really liked this restaurant," Teigen wrote. "Went as a joke, came out covered in ribs and nacho hybrids."
Guy's American Kitchen and Bar gained notoriety in 2012 after a blisteringly negative and now-famous zero-star review by Pete Wells, a food critic for The New York Times. In the review, Wells lambasted nearly every item he tried -- including Fieri's ubiquitous donkey sauce -- at the then-new restaurant and mocked the "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" host's catchphrase.
"When you hung that sign by the entrance that says, WELCOME TO FLAVOR TOWN!, were you just messing with our heads?" Wells wrote.
In a tweet Thursday, Wells wrote, "I guess it's time to give up on getting those questions answered."
But the restaurant did have high points in the Big Apple: Fieri, representing the Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, tied Manhattan chef and restaurateur Josh Capon for the top prize during New York Wine and Food Festival's annual Burger Bash in 2013.
