{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}} {{short description|American restaurateur (born 1972)}} {{Infobox chef <!-- for more information see :Template:Infobox chef/doc --> | name = Sarma Melngailis | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|9|10}} | birth_place = | citizenship = American, Latvian | death_date = | death_place = | style = Vegan, Raw foodism | education = University of Pennsylvania (BS, BA)<br/>French Culinary Institute | ratings = | prevrests = {{plainlist| * Commissary, New York City (2001–2003),<br/> * Pure Food and Wine, New York City (2004–2016),<br/> * One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway, New York City (2007–2015),<br/> * One Lucky Duck, Chelsea Market, New York City (2009–2015),<br/> * One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway, San Antonio, Texas (2014–2016) }} | spouse = {{marriage| Anthony Strangis|2012|2018|end=divorced}} | known_for = {{plainlist|Restaurateur (2001–2015),<br/> Fugitive, convicted of fraud (2015–2017)}} | website = {{URL|http://www.sarmaraw.com}} }}
'''Sarma Melngailis''' (born September 10, 1972)<ref name=nation/> is an American chef, cookbook author, businesswoman and convicted criminal. She was the owner and co-founder of Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck, both vegan raw food restaurants in New York City.<ref name=fork>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2009/12/post_19.php|title=Chatting With Sarma Melngailis of Pure Food and Wine: Raw Food, Criticism From Vegan Purists, and Global Expansion|last=Miller|first=Jenny|date=December 11, 2009|work=Fork in the road|publisher=Village Voice|access-date=December 16, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091214070619/http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2009/12/post_19.php|archive-date=December 14, 2009}}</ref><ref name="paper">{{cite news |last=Frakes |first=Julia |date=March 30, 2009 |title=Spring Cleaning With... Sarma Melngailis |work=Paper Magazine |url=http://www.papermag.com/blogs/2009/03/spring_cleaning_with_sarma_mei.php |url-status=dead |quote=University of Pennsylvania (where she earned a B.A on top of her B.S. in Economics from Wharton) |accessdate=December 16, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214105036/http://www.papermag.com/blogs/2009/03/spring_cleaning_with_sarma_mei.php |archivedate=February 14, 2010}}</ref> Melngailis' restaurant appeared in ''New York Magazine''{{'}}s Top 100 Restaurants round up, and made it into ''Forbes''{{'}} list of All Star New York Eateries for five consecutive years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Biggs |first=Jade |date=March 15, 2022 |title=Where is Sarma Melngailis – of Netflix's newest true crime doc – now? |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a39438318/bad-vegan-sarma-melngailis-now/ |access-date=December 1, 2022 |website=Cosmopolitan |language=en-GB}}</ref> Both businesses closed in 2016 after staff walked out over unpaid wages. After fleeing New York with husband Anthony Strangis, Melngailis was tracked down in Tennessee and arrested in 2016. She pleaded guilty in 2017 to grand larceny, scheming to defraud, and criminal tax fraud. She admitted stealing over $2 million from investors and employees. She spent nearly four months in jail.
==Early life and education== Sarma Melngailis was born September 10, 1972, in the United States, and was raised in Newton, Massachusetts.<ref name="nation" /> Melngailis's father John Melngailis was born in Riga, Latvia and was a physicist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Salkin |first=Allen |date=March 17, 2022 |title=Sarma Melngailis, Netflix's "Bad Vegan," Stares Down Her Past—And Future |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/03/sarma-melngailis-netflixs-bad-vegan-stares-down-her-past-and-future |access-date=April 26, 2022 |magazine=Vanity Fair |publisher=Condé Nast |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Felbin |first=Sarah |date=March 18, 2022 |title=Here's How 'Bad Vegan' Sarma Melngailis' Mom Fell For Anthony Strangis' Scam |url=https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a39453473/bad-vegan-sarma-melngailis-mom-susan-jasse/ |access-date=April 26, 2022 |website=Women's Health |language=en-US}}</ref> Her early interest in food came from her mother, a professional chef. Her parents divorced when she was nine years old.<ref name=":0" />
She attended Newton North High School.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last= |first= |date=November 3, 2016 |title=How Sarma Melngailis, Queen of Vegan Cuisine, Became a Runaway Fugitive |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/11/how-sarma-melngailis-became-a-runaway-fugitive |access-date=April 26, 2022 |magazine=Vanity Fair |publisher=Condé Nast |language=en-US}}</ref> Melngailis graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994 with a B.A. degree, and a B.S. degree in economics from the Wharton School.<ref name=paper/>
Melngailis moved to New York City, working at the investment firm Bear Stearns until 1996, then moving to Bain Capital in Boston, working in private equity investment.<ref name="paper" /> She returned to New York City in 1998 and joined a high-yield investment fund at CIBC, but soon left to enroll at New York's French Culinary Institute<ref name="fork" /> from which she graduated in 1999.<ref name="nation" />
== Career == ===Restaurants=== thumb|Salsify noodles with radicchio and fresh figs, a dish from Pure Food & Wine in 2013 thumb|upright|Wine server from Pure Food & Wine in 2013 Together with chef, author, and speaker Matthew Kenney, her then-boyfriend,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Felsenthal|first1=Julia|title=Chef Matthew Kenney on the Plant-Based Revolution Coming Soon to a City Near You|url=http://www.vogue.com/13391662/chef-matthew-kenney-plant-based-food-revolution/|website=vogue.com|publisher=Vogue|access-date=May 13, 2016|date=January 25, 2016|quote=In 2004 Matthew Kenney and his then girlfriend, Sarma Melngailis, opened Pure Food and Wine...|archive-date=October 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025031819/http://www.vogue.com/13391662/chef-matthew-kenney-plant-based-food-revolution|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E6D8163FF931A25753C1A9639C8B63|title=Owner and Manager In Dispute With Chef|last=Fabricant|first=Florence|date=October 12, 2005|work=New York Times|access-date=December 16, 2009}}</ref> she opened Commissary in 2001, but it closed in March 2003, after which she consulted for Jeffrey Chodorow's China Grill Management.<ref name=nation/>
In June 2004, Melngailis with Chodorow and Kenney, opened Pure Food and Wine as New York City's first upscale raw food restaurant.<ref name="nation">{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_32_38/ai_n6153892/|title=Sarma Melngailis: ex-financier uses raw talent in the kitchen|last=Duecy|first=Erica|date=August 9, 2004|work=Nation's Restaurant News|access-date=December 16, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Fabricant|first1=Florence|title=Owner and Manager in Dispute With Chef|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/12/dining/owner-and-manager-in-dispute-with-chef.html|website=The New York Times|access-date=May 21, 2016|date=October 12, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://observer.com/2010/01/a-rough-time-in-smoothie-world-rawfood-queen-scuffles-with-chelsea-market/|title=A Rough Time in Smoothie World: Raw-Food Queen Scuffles With Chelsea Market|author=Meredith Bryan|date=January 13, 2010|work=Observer|access-date=May 14, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/restaurants/chatting-with-sarma-melngailis-of-pure-food-and-wine-raw-food-criticism-from-vegan-purists-and-global-expansion-6515322|title=Chatting With Sarma Melngailis of Pure Food and Wine: Raw Food, Criticism From Vegan Purists, and Global Expansion|author=Jenny Miller|date=December 11, 2009|work=Village Voice|access-date=May 14, 2016|archive-date=June 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604104632/http://www.villagevoice.com/restaurants/chatting-with-sarma-melngailis-of-pure-food-and-wine-raw-food-criticism-from-vegan-purists-and-global-expansion-6515322|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/16/dining/food-stuff-off-the-menu.html|title=Food Stuff; Off the Menu|last=Fabricant|first=Florence|date=June 16, 2004|work=New York Times|access-date=December 16, 2009}}</ref> Located in Manhattan's Gramercy Park neighborhood, the restaurant was listed twice in ''New York magazine''{{'}}s "Top 100 Restaurants" and in "The Platt 101"<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Platt 101: Best New York Restaurants for 2006 |last=Platt |first=Adam |work=New York Magazine |date=December 29, 2005 |url= https://nymag.com/restaurants/wheretoeat/2006/15437/index.html |quote=84: Pure Food and Wine}}</ref> and five years in a row in ''Forbes'' magazine's list of "All Star New York Eateries."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/1222/019b.html|title=The Forbes 2008 All-Star Eateries in New York: Three Stars|author=Steve Forbes|date=December 4, 2008|work=Forbes|access-date=May 14, 2016}}</ref> In 2009, Melngailis believed that Kenney gave inadequate attention to the financial side of the Pure Food and Wine operation; Chodorow, taken by the strength of her business school and financial background, expelled Kenney from the operation and lent Melngailis {{US$|2.1|link=yes}}{{nbsp}}million to buy the business outright.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives. (ep. 1) |date=2022 |people=Chris Smith (director, co-executive producer), Amanda Griffin (editor) |type=Docu-series |publisher=Library Films Productions |location= |time=12:33 to 14:33 |format= |id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=October 12, 2005 |title=Owner and Manager in Dispute With Chef |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/12/dining/owner-and-manager-in-dispute-with-chef.html |access-date=April 26, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
The trio opened One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway in 2007,<ref>{{Cite web |title=I am One Lucky Duck: One Lucky Duck juice and takeaway review |author= |website=vegan victuals |date=September 10, 2009 |url= https://www.veganvictuals.com/i-am-one-lucky-duck/}}</ref> a takeaway retail store attached to Pure Food and Wine. The website OneLuckyDuck.com, launched in 2005, was an online store for snacks prepared and packaged from Pure Food and Wine, as well as ingredients, skincare, supplements, books, apparel, and home products, all related to raw and organic living. A second One Lucky Duck location was open in New York City's Chelsea Market from December 2009 through January 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/off-the-menu-new-kiosks-at-chelsea-market/?scp=1&sq=%22one%20lucky%20duck%22&st=cse|title=Off the Menu: New Kiosks at Chelsea Market|author=Florence Fabricant|work=The New York Times|date=October 29, 2009|access-date=May 14, 2016}}</ref>
From 2014 until July 2016, One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway operated in San Antonio, Texas, the first location outside of New York City.<ref name="One Lucky Duck">{{cite web |title=NEW JUICE BAR IN… TEXAS! |url=http://ducknews.oneluckyduck.com/2013/09/26/one-lucky-duck-san-antonio/ |website=ducknews.oneluckyduck.com|date=September 26, 2013<!--from page URL-->|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430210633/http://ducknews.oneluckyduck.com/2013/09/26/one-lucky-duck-san-antonio/ |archive-date=April 30, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fechter |first=Joshua |date=July 7, 2016 |title=Unlucky Duck: San Antonio juice bar One Lucky Duck closes after vegan founder arrested |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/business/local/article/Unlucky-Duck-San-Antonio-juice-bar-One-Lucky-8345443.php |access-date=April 26, 2022 |website=mySA |language=en-US}}</ref>
===Controversy=== In January 2015, Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck staff walked out en masse due to Melngailis' failure to pay employees a month's worth of owed wages.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ny.eater.com/2015/1/13/7539521/pure-food-wine-is-dark-tonight-as-staff-walks-out-over-unpaid-wages|title=Union Square's Pure Food & Wine Currently Closed, After Staff Walks Out En Masse|last= Ferst|first= Devra|date=January 13, 2015|work=Eater}}</ref> This was the second time within a year that a month's worth of wages had been withheld, the first being in July 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://gothamist.com/2015/01/13/pure_food_and_wine_walkout.php|title=Pure Food And Wine Employees Walk Out Over Unpaid Wages|last=Casey|first=Nell|date=January 13, 2015|work=Gothamist|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211120648/http://gothamist.com/2015/01/13/pure_food_and_wine_walkout.php|archivedate=February 11, 2015}}</ref>
Melngailis addressed the walkout and subsequent closure of both restaurants in a blog post posted in February 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sarmaraw.oneluckyduck.com/2015/02/happened/|title=WHAT HAPPENED?|last=Melingailis|first=Sarma|date=February 8, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209082050/http://sarmaraw.oneluckyduck.com/2015/02/happened/|archivedate=February 9, 2015}}</ref> She apologized for the incident, but later deleted the post. In an interview with ''Well+Good'', Melngailis stated that the delayed wages were due to slim margins caused by debts and expensive ingredients, and that she had also previously missed her own rent payments.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://wellandgood.com/2015/02/10/exclusive-sarma-melngailis-strike-at-pure-food-and-wine/|title=Exclusive: Sarma Melngailis opens up about what's going on at Pure Food and Wine|last=Held|first=Lisa Elaine|work=Well+Good|date=February 10, 2015|access-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref> During the ordeal, Melngailis provided employees with a different explanation, blaming the situation on changing banks.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Preston|first1=Marguerite|title=What's Going On at Pure Food & Wine, Where Staff Remains Unpaid and Owner Is MIA|url=http://ny.eater.com/2015/1/16/7556849/whats-going-on-at-pure-food-wine-where-staff-remains-unpaid-and-owner|publisher=Eater NY|date=January 16, 2015}}</ref>
In April 2015, Pure Food and Wine, One Lucky Duck, and OneLuckyDuck.com reopened.<ref>{{cite web|title=WE'RE BACK: ONE LUCKY DUCK IS OPEN!|date=May 4, 2015<!--from URL-->|url=http://ducknews.oneluckyduck.com/2015/05/04/re-open/|website=ducknews.oneluckyduck.com|publisher=One Lucky Duck|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605025220/http://ducknews.oneluckyduck.com/2015/05/04/re-open/|archive-date=June 5, 2015}}</ref> A majority of staff did not return to the restaurant after its reopening.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Tishgart|first1=Sierra|title=How a Prominent Restaurant Owner Is Bouncing Back After a Public Staff Exodus|url=http://www.grubstreet.com/2015/04/pure-food-wine-returns.html|publisher=Grub Street|date=April 30, 2015}}</ref> In July of that year, the staff of both restaurants walked out due to unpaid wages. Both establishments have been permanently shut down.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 17, 2022 |title="Bad Vegan": Is Pure Food and Wine Still Open Today? |url=https://www.newsweek.com/bad-vegan-netflix-pure-food-wine-open-today-one-lucky-duck-closed-sarma-melngailis-anthony-strangis-1689133 |access-date=March 18, 2022 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref> The Pure Food and Wine restaurant closed in spring 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=LeGardye |first=Quinci |date=March 21, 2022 |title=You Can Order From the Restaurant From 'Bad Vegan' This Weekend |url=https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/bad-vegan-pure-food-and-wine-restaurant-netflix/ |access-date=April 26, 2022 |website=Marie Claire Magazine |language=en |quote=restaurant closed permanently in the spring of 2016}}</ref>
==Arrest and guilty plea== On May 12, 2016, it was reported that Melngailis and her then-husband Anthony Strangis<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=Fugitive restaurateur who championed raw food caught, charged|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fugitive-restaurateur-who-championed-raw-food-caught-charged/|website=cbsnews.com|publisher=CBS News Crimesider|accessdate=May 13, 2016|date=May 13, 2016}}</ref> were arrested in Sevierville, Tennessee, after he ordered a pizza from Domino's Pizza. The couple were staying in separate hotel rooms.<ref name="LSM">{{cite news|title=Latvian American celebrity vegan betrayed by cheesy pizza|url=http://www.lsm.lv/en/article/societ/society/latvian-american-celebrity-vegan-betrayed-by-cheesy-pizza.a182982/|accessdate=May 16, 2016|publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia|date=May 16, 2016}}</ref> It was reported that "In addition to the fugitive from justice warrants, Strangis was wanted for grand larceny, scheme to defraud and violation of labor law. Melngailis was wanted for grand larceny, criminal tax fraud, scheme to defraud and violation of labor law."<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web|title=2 New York fugitives arrested in Sevierville|url=http://wate.com/2016/05/11/2-new-york-fugitives-arrested-in-sevierville|website=wate.com|publisher=WATE 6|accessdate=May 14, 2016|date=May 11, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Owner of Vegan Food Business and her Husband Indicted for Allegedly Stealing from Employees, Defrauding Investors, not Paying Taxes|url=http://www.brooklynda.org/2016/05/12/owner-of-vegan-food-business-and-her-husband-indicted-for-allegedly-stealing-from-employees-defrauding-investors-not-paying-taxes/|website=brooklynda.org|publisher=The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office|accessdate=May 13, 2016|date=May 12, 2016}}</ref>
On December 19, 2016, prosecutors offered Melngailis a plea deal in which she would agree to serve one to three years in prison.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Avila |first1=Theresa |title=Prosecutors Offer Plea Deal to the Vegan Restaurateur Facing Grand-Larceny Charges |url=https://nymag.com/thecut/2016/12/prosecutors-offer-plea-deal-to-sarma-melngailis-of-pure-food.html |accessdate=February 27, 2017 |publisher=New York Magazine |date=December 20, 2016 }}</ref> Melngailis' attorneys were reported by ''Vanity Fair'' to be planning a "coercive control" defense.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Why Sarma Melngailis, the "Vegan Fugitive," Is Using a "Gaslighting" Defense|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/03/sarma-melngailis-vegan-fugitive-defense|magazine=Vanity Fair|last=Salkin|first=Allen|date=March 2, 2017|accessdate=April 13, 2017}}</ref> Melngailis pleaded guilty in May 2017 to stealing more than $2,000,000 from investors, and scheming to defraud, as well as criminal tax fraud charges. She received a jail sentence of nearly four months.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://gothamist.com/2017/05/10/sarma_melngailis_guilty_plea.php|title=Fugitive Pleads Guilty To Fleecing Staffers, Investors|last=Tempey|first=Nathan|date=May 10, 2017|work=Gothamist|access-date=April 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417092852/http://gothamist.com/2017/05/10/sarma_melngailis_guilty_plea.php|archive-date=April 17, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> She filed for divorce from Strangis in May 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/vegan-fugitive-sarma-melngailis-files-divorce-husband-article-1.3978169|title=Vegan fraudster Sarma Melngailis files for divorce from estranged husband after $1 million restaurant scam|first=Victoria|last=Bekiempis|date=May 8, 2018|work=New York Daily News}}</ref>
The 2022 Netflix documentary series ''Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.'' details Melngailis' scandals, including her relationship with Strangis and her financial crimes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dray|first=Kayleigh|date=September 27, 2021|title=Netflix's Bad Vegan is the true crime series of your dreams|url=https://www.stylist.co.uk/entertainment/tv/bad-vegan-netflix/569122|access-date=January 9, 2022|website=Stylist|language=en}}</ref> Melngailis disputes the veracity of the series and its conclusions citing numerous misrepresentations of her story in an attempt to heighten drama, particularly in the show’s final minutes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Melngailis|first=Sarma|title= BAD VEGAN IS NOT A DOCUMENTARY|url= https://www.sarmaraw.com/writing/2022/4/5/bad-vegan-is-not-a-documentary|access-date=April 17, 2022|website=Sarma RAW|date=April 5, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
== List of restaurants == {{Columns-list| * Commissary, New York City (2001–2003), * Pure Food and Wine, New York City (2004–2016), * One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway, New York City (2007–2015), * One Lucky Duck, Chelsea Market, New York City (2009–2015), * One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway, San Antonio, Texas (2014–2016) }}
==Bibliography== *{{Cite book |last1=Kenney |first1=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6k0BlwEACAAJ |title=Raw Food for the Real World: 100 Recipes to Get the Glow |last2=Melngailis |first2=Sarma |publisher=Regan Books |year=2005 |isbn=0060793554 |author-link=Matthew Kenney}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Black |first=Rosemary |date=August 24, 2005 |title=What's cooking? Nothing |work=New York Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/lifestyle/2005/08/24/2005-08-24_book_review__what_s_cooking_.html |accessdate=December 16, 2009}}{{dead link|date=November 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Powell |first=Julie |date=September 14, 2005 |title=No Heat Doesn't Mean No Sweat |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/14/dining/no-heat-doesnt-mean-no-sweat.html |access-date=April 26, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> *{{Cite book |last=Melngailis |first=Sarma |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L3KXgzDzwfcC |title=Living Raw Food: Get the Glow with More Recipes from Pure Food and Wine |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2009 |isbn=9780061940491 |location=New York City, NY}} *''The Girl with the Duck Tattoo: A Memoir'' (Lioncrest Publishing, 2025) {{ISBN|9781544548982}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[http://www.sarmaraw.com SarmaRaw Blog] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20150318073747/http://sarmaraw.oneluckyduck.com/ Archived blog posts by Sarma] *[http://www.harpercollins.com/author/microsite/About.aspx?authorid=29315 Sarma Melngailis Listing from HarperCollins Publishers]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melngailis, Sarma}} Category:1972 births Category:American restaurateurs Category:American women restaurateurs Category:American people of Latvian descent Category:Living people Category:People from Newton, Massachusetts Category:Businesspeople from New York City Category:American women company founders Category:American company founders Category:Newton North High School alumni Category:American people convicted of fraud Category:21st-century American women writers Category:21st-century American businesswomen Category:Bain Capital people Category:Bear Stearns people