Dave Portnoy’s public feud with a pizza shop owner is proving that there’s no such thing as bad press.
Earlier this month, the Barstool Sports founder dubbed Dragon Pizza in Somerville, Massachusetts, “the worst pizza place in America” after his pizza review was interrupted and slammed by shop owner Charlie Redd in a now-viral video. However, the intense clip hasn’t hurt sales for the pizza joint.
“Dave, enjoy your pizza as any customer, but I don’t appreciate what you do coming in and judging a business with one bite,” Redd said during the review. “I hope you enjoy your pizza, but I don’t appreciate what you do to small businesses.”
Portnoy, who reviews pizza around the country for his “One Bite Pizza Review” series, refuted the statement and called Dragon Pizza “trash.” Despite the viral spat, the shop claims to be selling out of food in the wake of the controversy.
To keep up with the new demand, Dragon Pizza had to close for a day to prepare after selling out several days in a row, according to the shop’s Instagram.
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While the review proved to be beneficial to the business, the shop owner is still at odds with Portnoy.
“But I don’t want to give him credit for complicating my life,” Redd said about Portnoy to Boston.com. “We’re running our pizza shop, and everyone is happy. I’m receiving death threats. I’ve received threats at my home. I’m receiving tons of all sorts of different attacks in many different ways.”