CALGARY RESTAURANT OWNER FURIOUS AT OILERS OVER UNPAID TAB

Xbfeng

CTV 1/1/2010
CALGARY -- The manager of an upscale Calgary restaurant is furious, claiming that Edmonton Oilers players refused to cover the full cost of a nearly $17,000 tab during a New Year's Eve night out for team members.
5 j- L! `; c+ O% [9 u% Y8 A& d9 g
; ]2 ]5 r5 \( B! D; i3 PMaurizio Terrigno of Osteria de Medici, the restaurant where former U.S. president George W. Bush dined when he was in Calgary last year, said the team and staff owed $16,796.39 but wanted a break on the bill and paid $12,381.45.

, D6 W4 D7 B4 {- K* N1 O0 xTerrigno said about half of the bill was for alcohol totalling $8,248, including dozens of shots of tequila and bottles of expensive wine and $1,000 champagne.
" Q* W& l! j9 h" d
8 A( D6 A' C6 R7 M5 Y1 E: K"These guys came in, they enjoyed our hospitality and when the bill came ... they went ballistic to the point where they started threatening, denigrating my staff, saying, `We're the Edmonton Oilers, we expect a 50 per cent discount,' " said Terrigno.
+ y2 P3 d5 y; s+ V
Terrigno said 45 people ordered off the menu and their total bill came to $14,234.23, including $677.98 for GST. The restaurant usually adds an automatic 18 per cent gratuity for a large group, which would bring the total to $16,796.39.
) @3 l1 `' j7 e4 N$ @% U% W
# s. s0 R- y% @3 G5 ~The Oilers had lost by a score of 2-1 earlier in the night against the Calgary Flames.
/ W# o& M/ X$ z9 {/ H) ]2 A
Oilers spokesman Allan Watt said the restaurant was recommended by some Calgary friends of the players and they had a prearranged meal and menu.
: J; b; ~" s+ |
, z$ n( O; h+ j- b% k, @$ d6 m, ~"They received the bill which they felt was outrageous," said Watt.
5 T0 U! P2 {; ~5 I
"They inquired about it and they were unhappy about it and were unhappy with some of the charges. The restaurant adjusted it by $7,000."
: F; l* W( H+ N9 \
Watt said the players paid the adjusted bill and added a $1,900 tip and left the restaurant.

* O3 S! H) O  W# R1 }$ [  STerrigno said the group, which included team captain Ethan Moreau, attempted to negotiate a discount on the bill.
7 A7 b) D. B  s
+ N6 A" I: r4 {4 E! Y7 ~He said the players argued they should pay by the bottle for dozens of shooters purchased during the bash, but the restaurant charged them for each one individually.

- c8 ?5 l; O4 h- g# W+ `  a1 gThe restaurant tried to charge for a bottle of an imported expensive brandy after one of the players took a swig straight from it.
4 O/ q# A6 _: ~1 K
3 k. d7 k! @: ~+ U* P8 Y  w) ?"They refused to pay for the whole bottle because they didn't consume the whole bottle," said Terrigno.

6 i; v! m- v6 Q3 y0 u  {9 X5 SHe said there's no way the restaurant will serve other clients from the same bottle.
) ^: r9 T6 r2 a! @- L" Q% e+ c; b
Terrigno said at one point he threatened to phone police.

"It's the first time during the 37 years of business have I ever experienced something like this," he said. "What's more upsetting is we know who they are."

" L$ \, T% W# r; V6 A$ STerrigno said because he was infuriated by what happened he plans on donating the money the players paid the restaurant to charity.

千度

The Edmonton Oilers players were ripped off.