New York City has been taking the death of chef-turned-television personality Anthony Bourdain especially hard: After all, he was one of their own, the son of a New York Times staff editor and a Columbia classical music executive who spent 20 years working his way up from a line cook to an executive chef at now-shuttered French restaurant Brasseries Les Halles, which has transformed into an impromptu memorial since the news of Bourdain’s death by suicide broke early Friday morning.
Another NYC institution mourning Bourdain is Xi’an Famous Foods, a regional chain specializing in cuisine from the city of Xi’an in Western China that exploded in popularity after Bourdain featured their original basement storefront in Queens on his show No Reservations in 2007. (It’s been featured on a number of cooking and travel shows since, including Bizarre Foods America, hosted by Bourdain’s friend and Travel Channel colleague Andrew Zimmern.) Xi’an Famous Foods now has 12 locations across New York City, and on Friday CEO Jason Wang took to Instagram to remember how Bourdain had helped his family, and tell customers that the net sales from all Xi’an locations on Friday, June 8 would go to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
Now, those proceeds have been totaled, and Xi’an Famous Foods will be donating $73,509.76—nearly double a typical day’s sales—to the suicide prevention charity. In an email to Eater, Wang says the chain’s Greenpoint location ran out of food an hour before closing on Friday, and that “I’ve received thank you’s from Tony’s fans and our guests alike, and as much as I appreciate their words, ultimately this is a tribute of thanks to our friend Tony who made it possible for us to achieve this at all.”
Wang’s original tribute to Bourdain is below.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.