Mario Batali Gives Up All His Restaurants Amid Sexual Assault Allegations
Mario Batali's partners have purchased his stake and are moving in a new direction without him.
Today marks the start of a new era for the restaurant group formerly owned in part by Mario Batali. The chef, embattled for more than a year amid sexual assault allegations, is no longer in partnership with the business that had been known as Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group.
The remaining partners, siblings Tanya Bastianich Manuali and Joe Bastianich, have bought Batali's stake. The new company — yet to be named — will operate the group’s remaining 16 restaurants under new management, according to The New York Times.
Batali “will no longer profit from the restaurants in any way, shape, or form,” said Bastianich Manuali, who will head up day-to-day operations at the new group, according to The Times' report.
Allegations against Batali first emerged on December 11, 2017. The chef followed up with a botched apology letter, but the fallout began swiftly: All traces of Batali vanished from Eataly, he was fired from The Chew (which ABC eventually canceled), his restaurants closed, and other chefs stepped back from their associations with his name.
