NPR.org - It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet.

An Arizona restaurateur, fed up after years of negative online reviews and an embarrassing appearance on a reality television show, allegedly posted a social media rant laced with salty language and angry, uppercase letters that quickly went viral last week, to the delight of people who love a good Internet meltdown.

"I AM NOT STUPID ALL OF YOU ARE," read the posting on the Facebook wall of Amy's Baking Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz. "YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW GOOD FOOD."

It was, to put it kindly, not a best business practice. Add to that an appearance earlier this month on the Fox reality TV show "Kitchen Nightmares" — where celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay gave up on trying to reform the restaurant after the owners refused to listen to his advice — and you have a recipe for disaster. Continue

UPI.com -As the recession and austerity measures continue to take a bite out of the "new poor" in Spain, a new restaurant in the autonomous region of Catalonia is offering a work-for-food option to diners.

La Trobada opened in March and serves lunch Monday to Friday, offering a set menu of starter, main course, dessert, bread, water and wine, according to El País.

In exchange for lunch, a diner can volunteer an hour of time to work as a dishwasher or server in the restaurant. La Trobada serves an average of 70 meals a day, about half of them paid for with time behind an apron.

After three months of regularly volunteering, people can keep doing voluntary work in other positions within the company. The so-called "time workers" are people who have been unemployed for two or three years and currently live below the poverty line.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/05/22/Restaurant-in-Spain-lets-diners-work-for-their-meals/8141369226428/#ixzz2U72AVd1L

Arronallen.com - We have collected ten (in)famous foodservice and restaurant industry lawsuits, from McDonald’s to Wendy’s that have played out in the public eye. Continue

NBCmiami.com - Things are back to normal at a Columbian Deerfield Beach restaurant on Monday, but the owners and employees of El Balcon de las Americas feel violated after an early Saturday morning burglary.

After watching the crime caught on surveillance video, a manager said: "I'm sure he's a professional. I'm sure he's done this before."

In the video released only to NBC 6, the thief is seen crawling around on the floor and opening registers, taking what's inside. Continue

HNGN.com - "Kitchen Nightmares" premiered an unforgettable episode last week that featured Amy's Baking Company restaurant and its' unconventional owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo. The Bouzaglo's wanted the help of host Gordon Ramsay to improve their business but rather than be appreciative of his time, the owners emotional outburst and reluctance to change forced Ramsay to quit the job for the first time ever on "Kitchen Nightmares". Continue

Money.msn.com Short of a global lobster die-off, just about the worst thing that could happen to Red Lobster and parent company Darden International  right now is a food and beverage safety threat to customers.

Like finding lye in its beer lines.

Though it's an isolated incident, a man from Panama City, Fla., claims he was on the receiving end of Red Lobster's worst nightmare when he was scorched with potassium hydroxide -- lye -- from a Budweiser he drank during a business lunch in Dallas earlier this month. According to The Dallas Observer, Justin Grogg took a sip of his beer and immediately felt his throat, esophagus and stomach starting to burn.  Continue

Oregonlive.com A 24-year-old drunken driver who was paralyzed below the neck when she crashed into another car as she drove the wrong way down Interstate 5 suffered another blow in court this week: The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled she can't sue the Southwest Portland restaurant that served her drinks.

The ruling comes on top of another Court of Appeals decision that went against Ashley Schutz last fall. Continue

WTSP.com Nokomis, Florida -- Pelican Alley is a longtime restaurant located right on the water, popular among locals who love fresh seafood and described as New England flair with a Florida feel.

"They're known for good food," said an excited Donnie DeNure. "I've been there with my sweetie."

But what customers like DeNure didn't know was that this same restaurant was shut down by the state as a temporary emergency closure this month, a state inspector documenting 13 violations, two considered high priority.

Among the issues were food left uncovered in the walk-in freezer; cooking surfaces excessively soiled with grease and food debris; and rodent activity, with the inspector documenting 86 fresh droppings found on the surface of the small window where food is sent out from the kitchen, around open containers of flour in the food storage area, underneath clean utensils, even one on a cutting board that was in use. Continue

TV-msnbc.com - The nationwide flood of labor uprisings in the fast food industry hit Milwaukee, Wis., on Wednesday morning when workers at several major fast food and retail chains commenced a day-long strike.

As in other cities where similar strikes have occurred, Milwaukee-based employees at companies such as McDonald’s and TJ Maxx are demanding a minimum wage of $15 an hour and the right to form a union. Organizers estimate that by the end of the day, between 150 and 200 workers may have joined the work stoppage. Continue