LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) – Following a viral video that raked their service over the coals, Goodfellas Pizzeria announced they would retrain the staff.
Earlier this month, Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports, posted a bad review of Goodfellas, it caused a bit of backlash for the restaurant. On social media, Portnoy posts reviews of local pizza places in addition to writing sports related articles. He received a cold slice of pizza and then got into an altercation with an employee who asked him to leave the premises.
“I’m going to give this a 0.0. Goodfellas, kicked out, national pizza review, 0.0!” Portnoy declared on the video.
Despite the hoards of Barstool fans who went on Yelp and Facebook to give low scores and bad reviews to the place, Goodfellas rallied and seemingly embraced the mistake.
“So, yesterday was not our day. The Yankees took a big L, and so did we. One day you’re an 8.1, and the next you’re a 0.0. We hate that the Pres got a cold slice and a cold welcome, and we are working on making it right. Our customers deserve better. We’d love the chance to show him what Goodfellas and Kentucky are all about. However, one review doesn’t define Goodfellas. We are a family business built from the ground up,” wrote owner Alex Coats the day after the video was posted.
Local businesses and fans of the restaurant, angered by the mob mentality of Portnoy’s viewers, came out in force to support the restaurant. The pizzeria is still taking the chance to learn from their mistakes.
“Goodfellas community, you are amazing! We are blown away by the support we’ve received over the last two weeks and deeply appreciate your business over the years. You have reignited our purpose. That said, we’ve got some work to do. We’re closing down shop to retrain our staff and get back to basics- delicious, hot slices and exceptional service,” reads a post on their Facebook page.
The restaurant says some locations have already had training, so service won’t be interrupted for most fans who swing by for a slice.
Goodfellas also announced that they will partner with Shop Local Kentucky to produce “0.0” shirts as a playful nod to Portnoy’s review.
