Naked restaurants aren’t for everyone. In fact, they’re such a niche interest that you may not have even known they existed in the first place. Something about hot entrees and nudity is likely only appealing to the risk-takers among us. And that’s probably why Paris’s first naked restaurant closed.
Now, to be fair, many new businesses fail their first year or two. It’s hard to gain clientele and get the word out, and there’s a lot of competition, especially in the restaurant world. Most of the greats have been around for quite some time and have likely gone through a bunch of changes to find a profitable business plan. So, the people who worked with O’Naturel (perfect name, right?) are in good company.
Those people are Mike and Stéphane Saada, who are twins. According to GrubStreet, they’re not nudists themselves but figured the concept would be appealing to a lot of people. Which… maybe.
If you think about it, you might go to a naked restaurant just to say you did. But, what if you’re the only diner in there? The naked restaurant opened in November 2017 and plans on closing this February, meaning that at the very least, they lasted a year.
“We will only hold good times, meetings with beautiful people and customers delighted to share exceptional moments,” the owners wrote on Facebook. “We are counting on you to support us and help us with many during this month of January and early February 2019. So don’t hesitate to book now to enjoy a last naked dinner in Paris. Now is the time.”
If you’re just as curious as I am, here’s what I found out about it. First, for those who worry about hygiene (a very reasonable fear), it looks like seats are all covered. Surely they wash each cover after a diner has used it.
O'naturel / Facebook
To be fair, the interior looks absolutely lovely.
O'naturel / Facebook
The problem is, the restaurant looked just like that on many occasions. Customers didn’t pack the place, which is one of the reasons why they’re shutting their doors. But, it’s not like they didn’t try. From the looks of it, they tried special events like nude karaoke.
O'naturel / Facebook
It also looks like they hosted trivia nights at the restaurant on occasion, as well as other events to try and get customers to give nude dining a try.
As expected, plenty of people had jokes and commentary about O’Naturel’s closing.
I wouldn't do this at home alone, let alone with a group.
— Christopher Byrne 🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@CBinVAN) January 8, 2019
— ✨𝕬𝖓𝖓𝖊𝖙𝖙𝖊✨ (@NetterM8) January 9, 2019
I'll just leave this here pic.twitter.com/OW1yoPXgsy
— VanessaFiji 😷🇪🇺 #BanPalmOil #StillWithCorbyn (@VanessaFiji) January 9, 2019
Seinfeld is right. There's good naked and bad naked. Eating naked is bad naked.
— That Guy (@ScottIsThatGuy) January 9, 2019
‘That’ll be a soup du peen for two please’
— Rita (@rewindthefilth) January 9, 2019
Hey! I’m trying to eat
— Richard Ruff (@rufftimes579) January 9, 2019
With all of the outcry, it’s safe to say that perhaps the owners of O’Naturel didn’t totally think this thing through.
Still, the restaurant itself looks lovely. So who knows? Maybe they can re-open a brand new business that happens to be the opposite of a naked restaurant (otherwise known as, “a standard restaurant”) and see if clientele would be interested in giving it a shot.
