A British-born restaurateur plans to give everyone in his swanky New York City restaurant a free bottle of champagne if Kamala Harris wins the presidential election.
Balthazar owner Keith McNally, 73, who is also referred to as ‘Mr. Nasty’ due to his controversial social media feuds throughout the years, has been in the restaurant scene since the 1980s – even being dubbed as ‘the restaurateur who invented downtown’.
The notorious owner of the high-end restaurant took to Instagram on Saturday to announce that he’ll be at his Parisian-style brasserie on election day.
He also informed his followers of his plan to give every table at his restaurant ‘a great bottle of champagne’ – but only if it looks like Harris is going to win.
‘Kamala Harris left such a powerful impression on me that I’m definitely going to vote for her to be the next president of the United States,’ the caption wrote.
The controversial British-born restaurateur, Keith NcNally, 73, announced to Instagram on Saturday that he plans to give everybody in his NYC restaurant a bottle of champagne if Kamala Harris wins
McNally has been in the restaurant scene since the 1980s and is the owner of New York City’s Balthazar along with dozens of sister restaurants
McNally recalled being dragged to Jim Belushi’s fourth of July party at his house on Martha’s Vineyard in 2008 despite ‘loathing’ parties and fireworks.
But he ran into a surprise on his way out.
‘Jim or his wife, Jenny, introduced me to a woman in her mid-forties,’ he wrote. ‘The woman was African-American and alarmingly intelligent.
‘She was also sassy, attractive and extremely witty. Even though I was anxious to leave the party, I wanted to talk with this woman more.’
The woman’s name was Kamala Harris.
McNally posted this picture of Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday and recalled how intelligent she was after meeting her at a fourth of July party in 2008
McNally recalled clicking with the now-Vice President, who was the District Attorney of San Francisco at the time.
He noted how despite Harris being far more intelligent than him, she was interested in talking with him – so much so that they had a conversation for about 20 minutes and agreed to meet for coffee later that week.
Although they never did get around to a coffee meet-up, the two exchanged emails a few times over the next year.
‘One of the endless things I regret in life is not staying in touch with her,’ McNally wrote.
‘If it looks like Harris is going to win before the night’s over, I plan to give every table at the restaurant a great bottle of champagne. It’s the very least I can do.’
But this wouldn’t be the first time he’s offered to give out free items from his eatery.
Despite being considered ‘New York’s most provocative restaurateur’ due to his dozens of internet feuds throughout the years, the comments under his most recent post supporting Kamala Harris were mostly positive
This past June, McNally offered free dinner to any one of his 131,000 followers who could name the celebrity he singled out in a post that was immediately deleted for ‘violent or graphic content’
McNally – who is also considered ‘New York’s most provocative restaurateur’ – has been the center of a slew of ‘internet beef’ throughout the years, including with Adam Platt, a restaurant critic, and comedian James Corden.
In June of this year, the sharp-tongued owner spilled the beans on the celebrity whose identity was censored by Instagram after he offered the ‘raw truth’ about them.
He was inundated with guesses after offering a free dinner to anyone naming the person he had singled out in a post that was immediately deleted for ‘violent or graphic content’.
‘Judging by the amount of individuals you have fallen out with, this bet has worse odds than the Euro lottery,’ wrote one user.
His 131,000 Instagram followers may have had in mind his torrent of abuse against Lauren Sánchez, fiancée of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who he called ‘absolutely revolting’ in an April post.
‘What an ugly and f***ing SMUG – LOOKING couple they make,’ he added. ‘Is this what having 1000 Billion dollars does to people?’
In September of this year, he took to the platform again, slamming Lauren Sánchez and some of the Kardashian clan by calling them ‘repulsive.’
McNally is no stranger to internet beef and has used his ‘razor sharp tongue’ to call out food critics, comedian James Cordon and most notably Lauren Sánchez, Jeff Bezos’ fiancée
McNally said that a free bottle of champagne for the customers of his Parisian-style brasserie is the least he can do after Harris left a powerful impact on him 16 years ago
In McNally’s most recent post to Instagram, he told his thousands of followers that he will definitely be voting for Harris to become the next president of the United States
But the comments under his most recent post were mostly filled with support, despite making headlines dozens of times throughout the years for savage social media posts.
‘See you on Tuesday for that champagne!!!’ one user wrote.
Another said: ‘FILL MY FLUTE!’
‘Amazing!’ another wrote. ‘I sure hope it goes the way you are thinking! I’ll be having champagne too!!!!! Cheers to that!!!’
