A tweet from a "disgruntled" former employee of Lakeview's Cheesie's Pub & Grub that referenced Ray Rice and a "knockout" deal from the restaurant had leadership apologizing Tuesday.
"It's a knockout deal.... We're calling it the Ray Rice ;)," the tweet, sent Tuesday afternoon, read. The tweet-intended to promote an ongoing promotion at the restaurant-came a day after the NFL suspended Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice after video of him hitting and knocking out his girlfriend surfaced. Shortly thereafter, the restaurant deleted the tweet and sent out an apology.
We would like to apologize for the previous tweet, referencing Ray Rice. This tweet was posted by a disgruntled ex employee who had
- Cheesie's Pub & Grub (@CheesiesChicago) September 9, 2014Twitter access. In no way, shape or form do we condone his behavior. We also apologize to anyone who was directly offended by this tweet.
- Cheesie's Pub & Grub (@CheesiesChicago) September 9, 2014
Social media security precautions are being put in place to prevent this from happening again. Also, we will be setting up a charitable
- Cheesie's Pub & Grub (@CheesiesChicago) September 9, 2014Fundraiser in the near future with center for domestic violence. Once again our sincere apologies.
- Cheesie's Pub & Grub (@CheesiesChicago) September 9, 2014Reached for comment Tuesday evening, Cheesie's Operations Manager Chance Lydick said the tweet came from a former employee who still had access to the company's social media accounts, but did not yet know exactly who it came from. He stressed that it was not a current employee who sent the tweet.
"The fact that this was said is incredibly disheartening," he said. "Especially from a business like ours. We have always prided ourselves as being a place where people can get away from their problems. Out there somewhere, multiple people think Cheesie's takes domestic abuse lightly. And that disgusts me."
Lydick also said the employee who was in charge of social media for the company was terminated today because he said it was their responsibility to make sure no one else had access to the account. Lydick said he has begun the process of reaching out to charities that aid victims of domestic violence in hopes of organizing a fundraiser.
"What really bothers me is there will always be a mark on us," he said. "I really hope that's not the case. It makes me very sad."
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