It was an uphill battle from the very beginning.
Salt Bae Burger opened its doors in Union Square a month before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the entire city, and the rest of the world.
But the pandemic wasn't the restaurant's only battle. The restaurant opened to tough reviews, including one from Eater saying the burger joint had "all the charm of an airplane hanger," and one from Gothamist calling it the Big Apple's worst restaurant.
Manhattan's Salt Bae Burger was the second opened by internet favorite, restaurant mogul Nusret Gökçe -- the first was reportedly opened in Dubai in 2019, Eater reports. The burger restaurants opened on the heels of the wildly successful Nusr-Et Steakhouse, a chain with almost two dozen worldwide locations.
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The hype and success of Gökçe’s previous restaurants did not appear to carry over to Salt Bae's downtown opening. At the time, its menu boasted a wagyu beef burger wrapped in gold foil, a vegetarian "ladies burger," and "golden" milkshakes. They all reportedly cost $99.
Eater reports a sign now covers the front door of Salt Bae Burger, at 220 Park Avenue South, that claims the burger restaurant is moving to a new location in the city.
The address? The same as a Nusr-Et Steakhouse in the Meatpacking District.
