The first time Jonathan Evora heard the name Keith Lee was when his phone rang at 6 a.m. on a Friday.
The stranger on the other end of the phone yelled at him, saying he had pocketed the money Mr. Lee had given him for his employees.
Evora told the man he had no idea what he was talking about.
“Don't make fun of me. You know what I'm talking about,” the person said before hanging up.
Evora thought it must be a prank, something strange.
But then I got another call. And one more thing.
His wife, Amy Evola, helped connect the dots. She follows Lee on TikTok, and she knew he was currently reviewing restaurants in Dallas. She realizes that Evolus' catering business, Seasoned Street Food, must have been confused with Sweetly Seasoned, a food truck Lee recently reviewed, and suspects she misappropriated a $4,000 tip from Lee. received criticism.
Lee, who is looking for small businesses to promote and amass a huge online following, reviewed a Dallas food truck on Wednesday. Shortly after, rumors spread that the food truck owner had kept the entire $4,000 tip Lee had left for a nearby employee she met during her visit. Sweetly Seasoned's Instagram and Google pages were flooded with angry comments and have since been deleted.
Since Friday morning, Jonathan's cell phone number has been linked to his business, Seasoned Street Food, after an irate stranger demanded that Lee pay the employee he was planning to tip. We have received over 60 calls from people. His Google page for Seasoned Street Food has also been flooded with one-star reviews, some mentioning Keith Lee's fall incident and others claiming food poisoning. Some of the one-star reviews said nothing at all.
“We live and die by reviews, and one-star reviews are really harmful,” Jonathan said. “If someone who wants us to officiate their wedding sees negative reviews about us, they won't consider hiring us. We know they won't.”
The Evolas, who own several small businesses in the Dallas area, said they have worked hard to grow their catering business, which they opened in West Dallas a year ago. But the misguided harassment they received in just 10 hours may be enough to shatter the ghost kitchen concept, which relies heavily on online exposure.
They have tried to contact Mr. Lee and ask him to tell his followers that their anger is misdirected, but so far they have been unsuccessful. Mr. Lee could not be reached for comment. dallas morning news.
Ebola has also contacted Google to remove the false reviews, a process that could take some time.
“As a result, we are currently considering closing the business and changing our name,” Jonathan said. “It would be a huge loss. It's not just about money, it's about time. We've spent a lot of time on branding and developing our customer base.”
None of this is Lee's fault, Amy said. She hopes people will do their due diligence before issuing negative reviews or harsh words.
Seasoned Street Food holds pop-up to clear up confusion after being mistaken for restaurant reviewed by Keith Lee
