Here's What Happened To Pasta By Hudson After Shark Tank

Shark Tank is a television show where foodie ideas can take flight. From kitchen gadgets like the Float 'N' Grill to coffee home brewing systems like Bruw, lots of food-related pitches have come and gone through Shark Tank's halls. It isn't just gadgets either; food products and even restaurants like Pasta by Hudson have gone on Shark Tank to pitch their ideas.

Unlike most people who go on Shark Tank to pitch a device, Pasta by Hudson is actually a fresh pasta bar. The concept was to have a range of fresh pastas and sauces that could be selected by customers and taken on the go. Entrepreneur Brandon Fay managed to strike a deal with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner while on the show.

The ultimate goal was franchising based off of the small pasta bar restaurant that Fay already had. Ideas regarding pasta kiosks or selling uncooked pastas in grocery stores were also on the to-do list. Since the deal was brokered on Shark Tank, Pasta by Hudson has had its ups and downs, but is ultimately still in business.

Pasta by Hudson started as a casual restaurant concept from Brandon Fay. He combined his experience as a longtime managing director for Italian restaurant Trattoria Dell'Arte and love of Italian cuisine to create a restaurant based entirely around fresh pasta. Fay named the restaurant in honor of his daughter.

The menu was developed to be smaller scale on purpose to focus on high quality pasta and sauces. Customers could choose from six different pasta shapes and six different sauces. Fay also created a menu of 13 add-ons; customers could choose one item, like meatballs, and add it to their meal.

Last but not least, the menu had five pre-set meals available for order known as "Hudson's Faves". An individual meal cost anywhere between $9 and $13. The concept proved successful when he opened the first location in New York City.

Although Fay already found success on his own after opening his first restaurant, he decided to seek out investments to expand the business. He brought his restaurant concept, along with plenty of helpings of pasta, sauce, and meatballs, onto Shark Tank for season 11. The Sharks were highly receptive to the food, with Barbara Corcoran saying the meatballs were perhaps the best she had ever had.

For his fresh pasta bar business, Fay asked for $150,000 for 10% equity. While the Sharks enjoyed the food, several of them dropped out for various reasons. Kevin O'Leary dropped out of the deal as he felt the numbers weren't quite satisfactory. Daymond John expressed interest in the business and loved the concept, but had to drop out due to his personal dietary issues regarding pasta.

Barbara Corcoran was interested solely in the meatballs specifically, but wasn't interested in the pasta business itself. Only Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner jumped at the business opportunity. The two went in together on an offer of $150,000 for a 30% equity stake. Fay jumped at the chance and secured the deal.

After the Shark Tank episode aired, Pasta by Hudson started working on expansion. Pasta by Hudson already had one location in New York City, but Fay hoped to add three more New York City locations to the roster. In addition to franchising, finding ways to sell pounds of uncooked pasta was also part of the plan.

In total, Pasta by Hudson successfully expanded from one location to three, all located in New York City. The additional locations opened in Chelsea and Turnstyle Underground Market respectively. Sadly, the Chelsea location is temporarily closed as of 2025, and the Turnstyle location has closed permanently after a temporary closure during lockdown.

As for selling pasta beyond the restaurants, that idea sadly didn't flourish as much. However, Fay did take Barbara Corcoran's advice regarding the meatballs to heart. He ended up making the meatballs frozen to make them available for mail order.

The Shark Tank episode aired shortly before the COVID-19 lockdown happened, so Pasta by Hudson was never really able to take advantage of the potential hype and draw the episode could've brought to physical locations. Although Pasta by Hudson already had a location operational and relatively successful before the pandemic hit, it took a financial toll on the company.

The additional locations particularly struggled during lockdown. The Turnstyle location was the first to shutter due to slower business. The original and Chelsea locations struggled throughout the pandemic, but the numbers still suffered.

To keep business afloat, Fay took it upon himself to start making deliveries. Pasta by Hudson also helped provide meals to first responders and nurses throughout the pandemic. It was hard work but worth the effort, as the business ultimately stayed open once the lockdown was lifted.

The biggest loss for the company was the closing of the Chelsea and Turnstyle locations. Seeing as how Fay went on Shark Tank in the first place to franchise his business, losing the additional locations did set him back to where he started in a way. It also didn't help that the deal with Mark and Lori ultimately never closed successfully after the show, leaving Fay to fend for himself.

However, these setbacks didn't necessarily spell the end for Pasta by Hudson. Since then, Fay has campaigned online to make the Shark Tank Cheesy Meatballs available for online order for a limited time. He successfully received full crowdfunding to support both his Cheesy Meatballs and his restaurant locations post-pandemic.

Despite this, Pasta by Hudson never fully recovered from the losses during lockdown. All the locations have been closed down — at least temporarily — and the website is now defunct. It isn't a total loss, though; a sister restaurant has opened up in New York City, known as the Perry Club. There's even hope that the Chelsea location will reopen in the future, as Pasta by Hudson's social media still lists it as being temporarily closed. All in all, Pasta by Hudson didn't find success, but it can be considered a well-liked food product from the show, right alongside other foods like Poppi root beer.