Arielle Haspel opened an Asian restaurant in New York City and was forced to shut its doors due to claims that she “culturally appropriated” Chinese cuisine.
What We Know:
- Lucky Lee’s restaurant in Greenwich Village opened nearly eight months ago. A sign posted on the door read, “it is with a heavy heart that we are shutting down our woks and ovens tonight. We have truly loved feeding and entertaining you and your families, we are very proud of our food and the space we created, but a lot needs to come together to make a restaurant work in New York City and we wish it could have succeeded as we hoped.”
- Haspel was an Instagram influencer who created a website “Be Well With Arielle”. The site mainly focused on healthy eating and living a healthy lifestyle. Haspel then moved on to her next project, the restaurant Lucky Lee’s. The restaurant also focused on healthy eating but with an Asian inspiration.
- Chinese English speakers seemed to be made fun of at the restaurant for their accents with signs like, “Wok In, Take Out.”, according to the Daily Wire.
Haspel went on to say in a statement: “We thought we were complementing an incredibly important cuisine, in a way that would cater to people that had certain dietary requirements,” she wrote. “We have been listening and learning, and we have been making changes and we will continue. Shame on us for not being smarter about cultural sensitivities.”
