Les Halles, The Restaurant That Launched Anthony Bourdain, Closes In Financial District

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — Les Halles, formerly the home of Anthony Bourdain, has closed its last outpost in New York City after 25 years serving New Yorkers.

The restaurant's original location, on Park Avenue South, closed last year amid a slew of legal troubles. The Financial District location, located at 15 John St., closed this month as those legal and money troubles continued. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

The mini-chain became famous as the restaurant that helped launched Bourdain's career. The celebrity chef wrote extensively about his time at Les Halles in "Kitchen Confidential," the memoir that helped launch his career.

The restaurant has been under intense strain in recent years. Last year, the Park Avenue South location closed while in the process of being evicted for unpaid rent, Eater reported at the time, although owners had initially claimed that the space had been subject to a rent hike.

The Park Avenue South location shut its doors. Owners initially claimed they left the space because of a rent hike, but employees say that the restaurant was in the process of being evicted and that they hadn't been paid in weeks. A court order forced Les Halles owner Philippe Lajaunie to close the Financial District location after he filed for bankruptcy.

Lead image credit: Jamie McCarthy / Staff / Getty Images Entertainment.