Massachusetts pizza place sells out after Dave Portnoy calls it the worst in the nation
A Massachusetts pizza place is seeing booming sales after businessman Dave Portnoy branded the joint as the "worst" in the U.S. during a viral feud with the owner.
Portnoy, the founder of sports and popular culture blog Barstool Sports, got into an on-camera dispute with Dragon Pizza owner Charlie Redd while Portnoy filmed his review of their pizza, which he called a "floppy mess" and gave it a 6.4 out of 10 rating.
Portnoy posted the review on his Instagram and YouTube channel, "One Bite Pizza Reviews," last week, labeling the in Somerville, Massachusetts joint "The Worst Pizza Place in America." He also shared footage of his expletive-filled exchange with Redd.
In the review, Portnoy criticized the pizza's heavy parmesan, saying "this is an acquired taste. If you get this, know you’re going to get hit with a left, right in the face with parmesan.”
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"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 told Portnoy in the video as he recorded the review. "I hope you enjoy your pizza, but I don't appreciate what you do to small businesses."
Portnoy told Redd that his reviews actually help "so many small businesses" so he could peacefully say that the "pizza was trash" and referred to Redd as a clown.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Portnoy and Dragon Pizza for comment.
Dragon Pizza sees booming business
Redd's business appears to have profited following the negative review.
On Monday, Dragon Pizza thanked the community for "Another Day SOLD OUT" in an Instagram post. On Tuesday, the account announced its closure to get through the rest of the week.
"We are completely sold out and need a day to prepare for the rest of the week. Thank you to our amazing staff and supporters. Couldn’t do it without y’all," the Tuesday caption read.
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Despite the success, Redd does not view the situation as a positive experience telling Boston.com that he received death threats following the video's exposure.
"It’s kind of new terrain for me. It’s mental,” Redd said. “But I don’t want to give him credit for complicating my life. 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."
Regardless of the negativity he told the outlet that they're going to keeping doing what they do.
"We’re in this no matter what,” Redd shared. "We’re going to go back to making pizza and making people happy.”