Sarma Melngailis Net Worth: Why Her Pure Food and Wine Restaurant’s Stock Tumbled? All About His Current Controversy!

By David D. Ramey On Mar 23, 2022

Sarma Melngailis (born September 10, 1972) is an American chef and businesswoman who owned and co-founded the vegan raw cuisine restaurants Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck in New York City.

Both businesses were forced to close in 2015 after employees went on strike over unpaid salaries. Melngailis was arrested and convicted of fraud in 2016.
Melngailis grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, after being born in Latvia.

Newton North High School was her alma mater. Her mother, a professional cook, sparked her early passion for cuisine. John, her father, was an MIT physicist.

Melngailis earned a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994.

Melngailis travelled to New York City and worked at Bear Stearns until 1996, after which he relocated to Boston to work at Bain Capital, where he worked in private equity investment.

Name	Sarma Melngailis
Birth	September 10, 1972
Age	49 years
Genre	American chef and businesswoman
Relationship Status	Single
Net Worth	$1.5 Million

She returned to New York City in 1998 and joined CIBC’s high-yield investment fund, but resigned soon after to enrol at the French Culinary Institute of New York[2], where she graduated in 1999.

Sarma Melngailis Controversy!

Employees at Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck went on strike in January 2015 after Melngailis failed to pay them a month’s worth of unpaid salaries.

This was the second time a month’s salary had been withheld in less than a year, the previous being in July 2014.

In a blog post from February 2015, Melngailis discussed the walkout and consequent closure of both eateries.

She later deleted the message after apologising for the event. Melngailis explained the delayed salary in an interview with Well+Good that she had previously missed her own rent payments due to thin margins caused by debts and pricey materials.

During the ordeal, Melngailis offered a different explanation to staff, blaming the situation on a bank switch.

Pure Food and Wine, One Lucky Duck, and OneLuckyDuck.com reopened in April 2015.

After the restaurant reopened, the majority of the personnel did not return. The staff of both restaurants went on strike in July of that year due to unpaid wages. Both businesses have been permanently closed.

Sarma’s Net Worth!

Sarma Melngailis is one of the wealthiest restaurateurs and one of the most well-known restaurateurs. Sarma Melngailis’ net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.

Melngailis addressed the walkout and closure in a blog post on February 8, 2015. Her blog post was later removed when she apologised for the event.

Melngalis explained the delayed salary in an interview with Well+Good that she had previously missed her own rent payments due to thin margins caused by debts and pricey materials.

Melingailis gave staff a different explanation during the event, blaming the matter on a bank switch. Employees at Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck went on strike in January 2015 after Melngailis failed to pay them a month’s worth of unpaid salaries.

This was the second occasion in a year that employees had a month’s earnings withheld from them, the first being in July 2014.

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