Salt Bae’s Boston Steakhouse Isn’t Doing So Hot

Nusret Gökçe — a.k.a. Salt Bae, whose viral success on social media has propped up an international chain of steakhouses and burger joints — could soon be vacating downtown Boston.

Gökçe’s outpost of Nusr-et at 100 Arlington Street in Back Bay was recently listed by Boston Realty Advisors as a turn-key restaurant space available for lease, Boston Restaurant Talk reports.

According to a spokesperson for the steakhouse, the team is “currently considering relocating the Nusr-Et restaurant in Boston” although “no decisions have been made at this time.” The spokesperson declined to answer further questions. Boston Realty Advisors also declined to comment.

The restaurant has been operating in Back Bay for nearly three years following a rough start in September 2020. Within a week after opening, Nusr-et was shut down temporarily by the city due to a number of alleged violations, including failing to follow COVID-19 safety protocols like proper social distancing and wearing masks when not eating or drinking.

For those who have followed Nusr-Et’s footsteps in other cities, the missteps are not a surprise. Salt Bae has become somewhat infamous in the industry for the company’s many screw-ups in restaurant operations, sometimes leaving a trail of wage theft and workplace discrimination lawsuits in its wake. The company’s lone U.S. outpost of its less expensive burger restaurant, Salt Bae Burger, shut down earlier this summer.