# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/sarma-melngailis
# Generated: 2026-08-13T21:42:26.738Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/sarma-melngailis"
name: "Sarma Melngailis"
slug: "sarma-melngailis"
description: "Sarma Melngailis is an American chef, cookbook author, businesswoman and convicted criminal. She was the owner and co-founder of Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck, both vegan raw food restaurants in New York City. Melngailis' restaurant appeared in New York Magazine's Top 100 Restaurants round up, and made it into Forbes' list of All Star New York Eateries for five consecutive years. Both businesses closed in 2016 after staff walked out over unpaid wages. After fleeing New York with husband Anthony Strangis, Melngailis was tracked down in Tennessee and arrested in 2016. She pleaded guilty in 2017 to grand larceny, scheming to defraud, and criminal tax fraud. She admitted stealing over $2 million from investors and employees. She spent nearly four months in jail."
tagline: "American restaurateur"
gender: "female"
country:
  name: "United States"
  isoCode: "US"
category:
  name: "Business Professionals"
  slug: "business-professionals"
profileType:
  name: "Business Professional"
  slug: "business-professional"
birthDate: "1972-09-10"
livingStatus: "LIVING"
scores:
  popularity:           48
  momentum:             0.977030087350372
  historical:           5.388814666666667
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     40
  profileCompleteness:  60
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
platforms:
  - platform:  "X"
    url:       "https://x.com/sarma"
    handle:    "sarma"
sources:
  - url: "https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarma_Melngailis"
    title: "Sarma Melngailis"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%A7_%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%B3"
    title: "سارما ميلنجيلس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarma_Melngailis"
    title: "Sarma Melngailis"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%96%A9%E7%88%BE%E7%91%AA%C2%B7%E6%A2%85%E7%88%BE%E8%93%8B%E5%88%A9%E6%96%AF"
    title: "薩爾瑪·梅爾蓋利斯"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B0%B6%E0%B0%B0%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%AE_%E0%B0%AE%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%97%E0%B1%88%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%B8%E0%B1%8D"
    title: "శర్మ మెల్గైలిస్"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D1%96%D1%81"
    title: "Сарма Мелнгайліс"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7424261"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump