”You’re a Bully!’: Atlanta Business Owner Under Fire After Video Shows Him Calling Customer a ‘Scumbag’ Who Claimed He Suffered Food Poisoning at Restaurant and Requested Refund
A video circulating on social media shows a local man’s encounter with an Atlanta restaurant owner who is seen calling him “scumbag” after the man alleged he experienced a bout of food poisoning after eating at the establishment and requested a refund.
Atlanta Black Star spoke to the customer who goes by @IAmTheRealLegend on Instagram and TikTok after he posted a video showing his interactions with the owner, a manager, and a server at Your 3rd Spot in Atlanta’s Upper Westside.
Legend said he went to the restaurant just after midnight on April 12 for his brother’s birthday celebration and ordered oysters and chicken and waffles. He left when the bar closed at 1:30 a.m. and went home.
He said he woke up around 5:30 a.m., experiencing severe vomiting and diarrhea for hours, which caused him excruciating pain. Later that afternoon, he said he returned to Your 3rd Spot to request a refund of approximately $100 for the food and drinks he had purchased.
A manager informed him that the restaurant would need to investigate to ensure he was present the previous night and had paid for his food before issuing a refund. Legend showed them pictures of him at the bar and the food he had eaten, but the restaurant refused to give him a refund until they investigated his claims further.
After requesting to speak with another manager or the owner, Legend said that one of the servers from his brother’s birthday party spotted him and approached him to ask what happened. When Legend said he had caught food poisoning, the waiter mentioned that he started experiencing similar symptoms after eating the restaurant’s pizza the same night Legend was there.
Legend recorded part of his interaction with the server and another manager. In the footage, the server tells the manager about his symptoms. Legend said the manager responded with skepticism to the claims and still refused to refund him.
As Legend continued to challenge the restaurant’s decision, he said the owner, Josh Rossmeisl, approached him and pulled him aside to speak with him privately. The conversation went south quickly when Legend said Rossmeisl rejected his allegations, accused him of lying, and demanded that he leave the property.
“I’m thinking he was gonna talk to me sensibly, and that’s when he started saying, ‘You’re a bully,’ ‘You’re gonna be held liable for making false allegations of food poisoning.’ He’s like, ‘You know you didn’t get any food poisoning from here.’”
When Legend told Rossmeisl that a server also reported he wasn’t feeling well after eating the restaurant’s food, Rossmeisl allegedly told him that he had misheard what the employee said and accused him of manipulating and distorting the server’s account.
At that point, Legend said he decided to leave, but the owner followed him down the street and continued to berate him.
Part of Legend’s video also shows a portion of his interaction with Rossmeisl in which the owner was heard saying, “You’re a scumbag … This is a small business that you’ve been bullying, you’re exploiting.”
“That’s not how you handle a situation like that,” Legend said of the owner’s remarks. “Like it could’ve went so different even without a refund, even if you wouldn’t have given me a refund. I still would’ve left the establishment if they talked to me in a better way and resolved it in a better way, but he took it straight to threatening and name-calling like a child.”
After the video and Legend’s allegations started circulating on social media, Your 3rd Spot wrote a comment on Instagram stating that Legend came to the restaurant showing no food poisoning “symptoms, no doctor’s note, no evidence. Just threats.” The restaurant also alleged that Legend would “expose them “if we didn’t pay up.”
“That’s not a guest. That’s extortion. He refused to let us investigate. Refused to provide proof. We reviewed footage, checked legs, spoke with staff. Not one other person out of 472 guests that night reported an issue,” the restaurant’s comment read. “Our only mistake? Not calling the police … Loving all the defaming statements made which are now screen captured and will be used as further evidence- Stay tuned.”
After Atlanta Black Star reached out to Your 3rd Spot for further comment, the restaurant sent this statement:
We are aware of the video circulating online. It stems from an individual who attempted to exploit our business by demanding compensation without providing any credible evidence or allowing a proper investigation.
Your 3rd Spot is proud to employ over 100 people and support many community organizations and chariies. We encourage anyone reporting on this to consider the full context and to look carefully into the background of the individual making these claims before giving weight to a heavily edited video.
What is not seen are the actions and statements from this individual, which are part of an ongoing legal investigation. While we cannot share further details yet, we are confident that the facts will make clear this individual’s claims are baseless. We stand behind our team, our standards, and our reputation. Anyone who knows our business knows the kind of people and culture we have built.”
Legend also sent Atlanta Black Star documentation showing he was treated for a complaint of food poisoning at a hospital after his encounter with Rossmeisl.
Legend added that he has already been in touch with his lawyers and plans to file civil action against the restaurant for the alleged food poisoning incident.