NEED TO KNOW
Josh Amidon, owner of Gino’s Steak & Onion in Fayetteville, New York, revealed on Facebook on July 13 that he was planning to marry his partner Joe on the final day of business
He noted that he and his partner had originally planned to get married in the restaurant in the fall, but moved up plans after lease negotiations failed
He noted that there would be free food and drinks throughout the event for customers as they said goodbye to the beloved restaurant, which went viral in 2023 for its “Malibu Barbie Dream Drizzle” sauce
A man is celebrating his sandwich shop’s closing — not with a funeral, but a wedding.
Josh Amidon, owner of Gino’s Steak & Onion in Fayetteville, New York — creator of the viral cheesesteak with Barbie pink sauce — revealed on Facebook that he planned to marry his longtime partner, Joe, in his beloved sandwich shop on the day it is scheduled to close on Monday, July 14.
He announced the news in a Facebook post on July 13, writing: “We’ve hosted a ton of events over these five years, but we’ve got one more up our sleeve, a wedding… mine.”
“Tomorrow from 5 pm to 8 pm, we’re throwing a wedding. Free food, free drinks. We didn’t get a whole lot of notice that this was happening, and we’ve gotta clear out the coolers anyway. This felt like the most fun, most ‘on brand’ way to close. Once we run out, we run out,” he added.
Amidon shared on Facebook that he and his partner, who have been together for 16 years, had originally planned to wed in the sandwich shop in the fall, but chose to move up the wedding after their lease negotiations fell apart.
He noted in his Facebook post that he had felt they “were right on the edge of getting a new deal done,” but three days before their lease ran out, the “landlord decided not to move forward” with “no explanation.” Though the sandwich owner noted that he didn’t think it was “personal” and it was all a part of business, since they paid their rent every month.
Amidon opened his wedding celebration to the public and asked that, in lieu of a gift, they consider giving a “cash donation” of “whatever you think is fair” in their tip jar instead. He noted that at the end of the night, the money raised would ”be split up among our staff to help them through this transition.”
Amidon’s restaurant — which he bought in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, per Today — notably went viral for creating a cheesesteak inspired by the 2023 film Barbie, which came drenched in a bright pink sauce called the “Malibu Barbie Dream Drizzle.” The food item was so popular that it quickly sold out and was covered by several outlets.
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“Our dining room is tiny, and then not to mention, we live in [an] insanely small village in central New York — we have like 4,000 people. So for people to be flooding our doors, getting this sauce — it’s an honor,” Amidon said at the time of the fanfare.
The restaurant owner noted on Facebook that after its final day, “100 percent of the restaurant is getting packed up and squeezed into two storage units.” As for what’s next, Amidon noted that the sky’s the limit.
“Another location? Maybe. A new concept? Possibly. A future partnership? Who knows,” he wrote on Facebook. “In the meantime, I’ll finally have a chance to finish my book, maybe start a podcast. You know, typical midlife crisis stuff brought on by crushing trauma.”
Read the original article on People
