Aarón Sánchez currently only has one restaurant, Johnny Sanchez in New Orleans, Louisiana. This location of the Mexican restaurant makes sense, because it’s where Aarón Sánchez set foot in K-Paul’s restaurant (via nola). At 16, Sánchez worked all summer under chef Paul Prudhomme. Sánchez returned to New Orleans at 18 and worked at the restaurant for just one year before leaving for cooking school. He didn’t quite feel out of place in New Orleans at the time.
After moving to New York, Sánchez opened a Latin-themed restaurant called Paladar. According Eater, he sold his stake in the restaurant after 10 years of ownership. It wasn’t until he met former colleague John Besh on “The Next Iron Chef” that he found his way back to New Orleans (via Nola). From there, the relationship between Sánchez and Besh grew, and the duo eventually worked together to create Johnny Sánchez. The partnership did not last long; per eater, Sánchez cuts ties with Besh following allegations of sexual misconduct and reopened the restaurant with two new partners. Today, Johnny Sánchez can be found at 930 Poydras Street in New Orleans, Louisiana.
