Trump Hotel SoHo's Sushi Restaurant To Close After Steep Business Decline
Trump hasn't had great luck with the food industry since the start of the 2016 election. Starbucks promised to hire 10,000 refugees in an apparent retaliation against his executive order banning travelers from several Muslim-majority countries. Tic Tacs, GrubHub, and Skittles each shared their own public snubs. And finally-what could be worse?-Anthony Bourdain announced he'd "never" eat at Trump-affiliated restaurants.
Ouch.
Now, all the pushback is finally hitting home in what's undoubtedly a huge (YUGE!) setback for the hotel empire. As reported by Grub Street, Koi, the sushi restaurant housed within the Trump SoHo Hotel in New York City, saw a sharp and unsustainable decline in business shortly after President Donald Trump won the election... and in mid-June, it's set to shutter for good.
Koi was once a popular hotspot in the trendy downtown area-even the Kardashians frequented it.
“Obviously, the restaurant is closing because business is down. I don’t think anyone would volunteer to close a business if they were making money,” Suzanne Chou, Koi Group’s general counsel, told the outlet. “Beyond that, I would prefer not to speculate as to why, but obviously since the election it’s gone down.”
Restaurant employees at the Pan-Asian establishment told Grub Street that the dining room is often 70 percent empty, and with tips in such short supply, many have resorted to taking second jobs. Koi currently has only ten service employees (including kitchen staff), and during lunch, they often cater to a crowd of fewer than 30 people.
The dining room can seat 140.
“Before Trump won we were doing great. There were a lot of people we had, our regulars, who’d go to the hotel but are not affiliated with Trump. And they were saying if he wins, we are not coming here anymore,” added Jonathan Grullon, a busser and host at Koi.
Well, if you've got a hankering for Koi's sushi come June 18, you can always check out New York’s other location further uptown. (Or just make it yourself.)
