Salt Bae crossed over from meme to mainstream almost immediately. Within a week of going viral, he was covered by The Verge, NBC News, TIME, the Wall Street Journal, and NY Mag61087. NBC reported that DiCaprio visited his Dubai restaurant and was "impressed with Mr. Nusret"10. Celebrities including Bruno Mars and Rihanna amplified his visibility5.

The meme had political reach too. Donald Trump Jr. posted an Instagram in July 2018 portraying his father as "Freedom Bae" sprinkling freedom, captioning it "Newly discovered footage of Freedom Bae!!!"2. Inverse pointed out the irony of the Trump family adopting the image of a proud Turkish Muslim given the administration's immigration policies targeting Muslim communities2.

Gökçe's restaurant empire, built directly on the meme's momentum, grew to locations across nine countries4. He purchased the luxury Park Hyatt Istanbul hotel for a reported €50 million in 20194. He also invested in charitable work, building a school, library, guest house, mosque, English education center, and computer laboratory in his hometown of Erzurum4.

The Salt Bae meme burned white-hot in early 2017 but the story didn't end there. Gökçe leaned hard into the fame, expanding Nusr-Et into a global luxury steakhouse chain with locations in Turkey, Dubai, the United States, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, Spain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia4. He told Hürriyet Daily News that the expansions were possible because of "telling stories and drawing people's attention," and insisted his seasoning style wasn't showing off but rather his way of "blessing the meat"8.

The reviews, however, were brutal. When his New York City steakhouse opened in 2018, critics savaged it. The New York Post's Steve Cuozzo called the restaurant "Public Rip-off No. 1"4. Joshua David Stein at GQ called the steak "mundane" and the burgers "overcooked"4. An Observer food critic wrote that the experience was "awful," describing one steak as "tough with globs of fat and gristle"1. Eater's Robert Sietsema offered a more balanced take, suggesting patrons judge it as "dinner theater" rather than a steakhouse, noting it was only satisfying "if Salt Bae is in the house"4.

The controversies extended well beyond food quality. In September 2018, Gökçe served Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at his Istanbul location, posting video of the encounter on Instagram3. Florida Senator Marco Rubio fired back on Twitter, calling Gökçe "this weirdo #Saltbae" and pointing out that Maduro led "a nation where 30% of the people eat only once a day"3. Rubio then posted the address and phone number of Gökçe's Miami restaurant, encouraging people to call and complain. Washington Post tech reporter Tony Romm questioned whether Twitter should intervene given its policies on real-world harm3.

In December 2017, Gökçe had also drawn criticism for a photo from 2016 where he posed mimicking a photo of Fidel Castro4. In November 2019, four former employees accused him of taking a share of their tips and claimed they were fired for raising questions about tip distribution. Gökçe settled the case for $230,00045. A 2023 Business Insider investigation described working conditions at his restaurants as "Hunger Games-like," with former staff accusing Gökçe of having a "god complex"5.

Restaurant prices became a meme in their own right. In September 2021, a photo of a £1,812 bill from the London location went viral on Twitter3. In 2024, Gökçe himself shared a bill from his Dubai restaurant totaling roughly £85,000, which included three orders of the £3,300 gold leaf-covered steak1. The gold steaks, frequently showcased on his Instagram, became a symbol of excess1.

Public health issues hit too. In late September 2020, his Boston restaurant was ordered to close just days after opening due to COVID-19 safety violations41. It reopened in early October4.

The most dramatic incident came after the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. Gökçe somehow got onto the field after Argentina's victory, approached Lionel Messi uninvited, posed for photos, kissed the World Cup trophy, and performed his salt-sprinkling gesture. FIFA launched an investigation, noting that only players and heads of state are permitted to handle the trophy45. He was banned from attending the U.S. Open Cup Final the following year5.

By 2025, multiple U.S. locations had closed, including Dallas, Boston, Las Vegas, and Beverly Hills. Only the Midtown Manhattan and Miami Beach restaurants remained operational in the United States5. His Manhattan burger bar, once dubbed New York's worst restaurant, had closed in 20234. The London location reported a £4.2 million revenue drop from £13.6m to £9.3m between 2022 and 20244. Gökçe's strategy shifted toward the Middle East and Europe, with planned expansions to Mexico City, Rome, Ibiza, and Milan5.