Guy Fieri's NYC Restaurant May Have Made $17 Million, Is Probably Still Horrible

Gabe Zaldivar
by Gabe Zaldivar
Last updated: 9:30 AM ET, Wed November 9, 2016

Add Guy Fieri's restaurant making an estimated $17 million to the list of things we will never understand, right next to the incredulity produced the minute we hear people paid to look at wax figures of famous people.

We might excuse your need to see a candle shaped like Angelina Jolie at Madame Tussauds. But we still need an explanation as to how many of you travelers decided flavor town was so attractive that you made that particular spot rich to the tune of an estimated $17 million.

That's a lot of Guy-talian Nachos. (Ugh)

The news comes by way of Restaurant Business Online (h/t Eater) and its list of the top-grossing 100 independent restaurants, described as such: "Only restaurant concepts with no more than five locations are considered 'independents' for the purpose of this list (although it's possible a restaurant that shares a name with a chain but is owned and operated separately would qualify, as with Smith & Wollensky in New York City)."

And there, at No. 39, like a shining beacon of spiked hair and superfluous wristbands, stands the name Guy's American Kitchen & Bar.

According to RBO, the average check - according to its figures - at this cozy little corner of New York City is $42, which our estimates will get you something in the range of a dish off the Ain't No Thing Butta Chicken Wing section; one of two Winner, Winner Chicken Dinners; and a tall beer to wash it all down. And if you order two beers you will forget that you passed up on a city filled with world-renowned fare for a place that serves something called Motley Que Ribs.

Yes, even the puns need an after dinner mint.

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As Eater reminds, Fieri's spot was once tremendously panned by The New York Times but yet stands as a testament to what tourists crave when on holiday.

Here is a glimpse of a restaurant that is so in your face it could tickle your nose as it shoves Guy-talian Nachos into your gaping maw:

TripAdvisor reviews range from the brotastic to the less than enthused. One comment states: "We had lunch here. The pulled pork sliders were 'righteous' and they were exactly as I imagined they would be. The big dipper (sandwich) was in a different league. It was 'on point.' The portions are large. There was no room for desert."

That's a review delivered with an ever-present hang-loose sign.

Another notes: "I am only writing this review to save your money and time. My husband is a big fan and so we tried it for lunch. It was a very limited menu and the staff was mediocre at best. The food was nothing special and the cost was extra special."

But really, we have to imagine most walk through the doors into flavor town specifically for the spectacle. It's like rubbernecking a debacle you can also dip in ketchup and devour.

And it's that kind of unique fun that RBO estimates made the restaurant about $17 million in 2015. There is no amount of beer, sadly, to make you forget that figure.


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