Pasta By Hudson: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank
When Brandon Fay appeared on season 11, episode 17 of "Shark Tank" with his NYC-based fast-casual pasta bar Pasta By Hudson, he was neither new to running a restaurant nor was it the first time that viewers had seen him on television. In fact, Fay was something of a veteran in the industry: He had worked as the Managing Director at one of the country's busiest restaurants, Trattoria Dell'Arte, and had his very own Sunday morning cooking segment on CBS New York called "Cooking with Brandon." But it was a trip to Venice and his daughter Hudson, who Fay claimed "has loved pasta ever since she began to eat solid food," that inspired Fay to begin his own Italian venture (via Pasta By Hudson).
Fay was walking around the city of canals with his family when he came across a quaint pasta bar that seemed modest by its looks, but which had a queue of hungry eaters waiting for hours outside. Tucked inside were all kinds of freshly made pasta with rows of sauces that could be picked and mixed together, everything packed and served steaming hot in Chinese takeout boxes. The concept was so simple yet delicious that his three-month-old daughter was an instant fan. Fay took this idea of no-frills fresh pasta bars back to New York City in 2018 and opened Pizza by Hudson in the eighth busiest subway station in the city, at 59 St-Columbus Circle's Turnstyle Underground Market.
What happened to Pasta By Hudson on Shark Tank
Fay took the Tank by storm with his energetic pitch and hoped to sway the Sharks into investing $150,000 in exchange for a 10% stake in Pizza By Hudson. While his enthusiasm and gusto certainly grabbed everyone's attention, it was his pasta that truly won the potential investors over. Groaning with satisfaction, Mark Cuban said that he would be ordering Pasta By Hudson every night of the week if he knew it offered spaghetti squash. Barbara Corcoran went on to claim that Pasta By Hudson's side of cheesy meatballs was the best she had ever eaten, subsequently offering the entrepreneur an entirely different deal to what he'd proposed: a 50% stake in a company that sold only those yummy meatballs online.
Not all the Sharks wanted a bite of Pasta By Hudson, however. Daymond John backed out citing his personal troubles with acid reflux that made eating (and therefore investing in) pasta extremely tough — though he did appreciate Fay's idea nevertheless. The fact that Pasta By Hudson was only just about to break even and was yet to become a franchisable business also put Mr. Wonderful off the table. Eventually, it was in Cuban and Lori Greiner that Pasta By Hudson found its investor(s). Fay ultimately accepted a joint deal with Cuban who put up the $100,000 for 20% equity and Greiner who agreed to invest $50,000 for a 10% stake.
Pasta By Hudson after Shark Tank
Pasta By Hudson seemed to have had a pretty successful run on the show, but whether or not his deal with the two Sharks actually materialized after "Shark Tank" remains unclear. Pasta By Hudson appears neither on Cuban's portfolio of companies at the time of publication, nor on Greiner's. In fact, things took a rather drastic turn for Pasta By Hudson in the months after the show. Pasta By Hudson's "Shark Tank" episode aired on March 27, 2020, which was around the same time New York implemented a citywide lockdown due to COVID-19. Although a lockdown meant that "Shark Tank" viewership was at a record high, it did little to benefit the brick-and-mortar pasta bar. "We must have had several hundred thousand people jump to our website that night," Fay told The Observer, "but the world was shut down," meaning there was no way to eat outside or order in.
The abrupt closure of restaurants also meant that Fay had $7,500 worth of inventory sitting in Pasta By Hudson's fridge that would soon perish. Not one to be deterred, however, Fay fired up his facility and used his inventory to feed frontline workers during the pandemic. Fay later thanked Greiner for her support during this time in a Facebook post, who also often chatted to healthcare workers over video calls whenever Pasta By Hudson stopped by to deliver hot meals.
Is Pasta By Hudson still in business?
While the immediate weeks after "Shark Tank" are usually filled with a surge in sales and new customers for most businesses, Pasta By Hudson had a tougher time. Even though Fay's work with frontline workers got several people talking about Pasta By Hudson, the Columbus Circle outlet never opened its doors again. But that wasn't the end of Fay and his pasta bar, for Pasta By Hudson found a different neighborhood in Chelsea at the end of 2020 to serve its fresh pasta and cheesy meatballs.
Not only is the brick-and-mortar pasta bar in Chelsea still in business, but it has since expanded its menu to include a wider variety of Italian offerings. The restaurant continues to offer the option of combining different handmade pastas with a choice of sauces and extras, but it also makes sides like garlic knots and a range of regular and heart-shaped pizzas now. The menu even features a cheeky pizza named Mr. Wonderful after Kevin O'Leary with meatballs and mozzarella. Pizzas aside, diners can also order alcoholic beverages like wine and draft beer as well as desserts like cannoli and chocolate mousse to finish off the grand meal. Fay also tends to shake up the menu entirely for Pizza By Hudson's boozy Sunday brunches, replacing the pasta with egg sandwiches, bottomless mimosas, and wine-based slushies.
What's next for Pasta By Hudson?
Fay may have found a new community for Pasta By Hudson, but, according to his interview with The Observer, his eyes are still set on reopening the Columbus Circle outlet in Turnstyle at some point in the future. Calling the original outlet his "baby," Fay admitted in 2021 that he would swing by his old neighborhood every day to look out for a new space suitable for the pasta bar. Meanwhile, those who can't make it to the Chelsea outlet have the option of ordering Pizza By Hudson home via Doordash.
While the hunt for a location near Columbus Circle continues, Fay is already delivering his famous cheesy meatballs nationwide in packs of 18, 24, 30, and 36 through Pasta By Hudson's website and hopes to come out with a range of sauces under the pasta bar's banner soon. The entrepreneur plans for fans to be able to buy Pasta By Hudson's classic Pomodoro and creamy alfredo sauces among others from specialty stores across NYC or taste them at certain restaurants serving his sauces at the very least. Fay's personal plans also include opening a third restaurant in the city — the first being Pasta By Hudson followed by his West Village restaurant, The Perry Club, which opened in 2021. With all those aspirations for the future, it certainly seems like there's a whole lot more that New Yorkers are yet to see from both Pasta By Hudson and its passionate founder.