SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – Confusion has left a restaurant in San Francisco dealing with hateful reviews and phone calls.
North Beach Restaurant near Stockton and Green streets has been mistaken for the restaurant that refused service to police officers over the weekend.
The general manager says she believes the confusion started with media posts that referred to Hilda and Jesse as “a” North Beach restaurant or “the” North Beach restaurant.
People didn’t realize that was a description of the restaurant’s location and not the actual name of the restaurant.
“We were getting all these random emails all of a sudden, and I was like “hey team, what’s going on?’ it was just hate-filled and ‘we’ll never come back again.'”
General manager of North Beach Restaurant Maureen Donegan says it took her some time to even piece together what was happening.
“I started picking up the phone today, and some people were very nice and understanding and listening. Other people screaming and lots of hate.”
The restaurant started receiving dozens of phone calls, e-mails, and reviews.
“It’s shocking that people don’t read all of the information and just assume.”
On Yelp, the restaurant has received more than a dozen negative reviews in the last day and a half. Some even incorrectly refer to the North Beach Restaurant owners as Hilda and Jesse.
She says she’s tried to respond to some of the reviews, but it’s been difficult.
“Probably the most angry of all of the responses we’ve gotten.”
She says she’s alerted Yelp to the situation. “It took a while to get through to Yelp and by that time it’s kinda like damage done.”
There is now a hold on posting, but she worries that this confusion could negatively impact their more than 50-year history.
Donegan says they had 3 last-minute cancelations Sunday night.
The staff called those guests just to make sure they didn’t cancel because of the confusion.
The general manager tells KRON4 there were officers dining in the restaurant this weekend, and they’re always welcomed at North Beach Restaurant.