via EATER AZ

And it’s on! Last summer, after the iconic Richardson’s restaurant burned to a crisp, EATERAZ’s, David Tyda did some on the spot reporting as the place was still smoking, and later posted a few follow-ups on his blog. Well, it appears that the mystery man behind the long-standing restaurant at the corner of 16th and Bethany Home was none to pleased with what he was reading, and fired back a sharp response to the EAZ crew: 

Very seriously, gossip is fine, but to accuse me of arson is entirely different. Arsonists just don’t burn down restaurants at 2pm on a Friday afternoon with a full house … I don’t own the building, I leased. That means my insurance payout is very limited … my life’s work was destroyed. I started that restaurant with a very small budget, I did much of the work myself, I was the first and only cook, me, a dishwasher and a server… At the time of the fire, we were a very busy place doing more than 3 million … I simply cared for my customers and bought the very best product, I insisted on value for the customer. For that I get accused of a major felony crime, you should be ashamed.” – Richardson Browne

Wow! EATERAZ fired back with a clear f’you tucked between a couple of compliments and served with a side of whine:

Dude, we didn’t accuse you of arson, the Reaper did. And nobody questioned the quality of your food. Hell, Tyda’s had Richardson’s literally number freakin’ one on his list of restaurants for as long as he can remember. Even after he mailed you a letter to tell you about how one of your bartenders kicked Tyda out once because he was friends with someone the bartender didn’t like. Just like that. On the spot, ousted the moment he walked in with friends. You never responded to that letter, dude. So apparently, you care more about rumors than your concerned customers … So maybe YOU should be ashamed and lighten up.

So what say you AZ? Are you backing the righteous, overly-prickly restaurateur, or the snarkily supportive, bartender-bashing blogger?