Michelin-Starred Nix Closes Permanently After Four Years
Nix — the Greenwich Village Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant from one of the city’s most preeminent chefs focused on vegetables — has permanently closed four years after it debuted in the neighborhood. Chef and co-owner John Fraser made the announcement on his Instagram page, writing that “letting vegetables take center stage has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.”
The restaurant’s Instagram page blamed the closure on the financial downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact that restaurants have been restricted to takeout and delivery since March. “Everything that’s happened since has shown us that there is no path back to where we had been,” part of the message reads, going on to add that the current predicament made it impossible for the restaurant reopen again in the near future.
Sources close to Fraser tell Eater that he tried to negotiate a rent adjustment with his landlord during this period, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
The pandemic has led to a series of setbacks for Fraser. The closure of the Times Square Edition Hotel brought an end to his restaurants there, including 701West and Paradise Club.
Nix, which was co-owned by former Conde Nast editorial director James Truman, opened on University Place in 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from critics including the New York Times’ Pete Wells New York Magazine’s Adam Platt, and Tejal Rao, writing for Bloomberg. In a more lukewarm review, Eater critic Ryan Sutton wrote that the restaurant “doesn’t serve very good vegetables.” Nix went on to become the first vegetarian restaurant in the city to receive a Michelin star.
Fraser, who is perhaps best known for his Upper West Side fine dining restaurant Dovetail, which closed in 2018, is now focussed on reopening reputed Long Island restaurant North Fork Table and Inn, which he purchased earlier this year.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article state that Nix got lukewarm reviews. The post has been updated to reflect that it mostly got positive reviews. Eater regrets the error.
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