CALGARY RESTAURANT OWNER FURIOUS AT OILERS OVER UNPAID TAB

Xbfeng

CTV 1/1/2010
9 z  @3 Q" V/ eCALGARY -- 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.

; S3 l8 Z' x2 J* R' eMaurizio 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.

; ~; j1 _+ Q/ L* w4 r: @Terrigno 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.
5 n; L" n. ~" @4 F/ l
# C  r3 p, O" f" o) e"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.

9 q: u! ]( k& X4 W, N7 }$ t6 NTerrigno 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.
$ {6 h' W0 X# j4 y( _. \
/ _/ Y# `: G1 j* x& JThe Oilers had lost by a score of 2-1 earlier in the night against the Calgary Flames.

7 p& X3 }, ]8 z: i6 @; X$ z7 g, A; iOilers spokesman Allan Watt said the restaurant was recommended by some Calgary friends of the players and they had a prearranged meal and menu.

"They received the bill which they felt was outrageous," said Watt.
1 S0 H; R2 d: X2 C
/ `1 \8 m6 p# V: q% B! [- g4 ~! u"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."

* P! c! L/ x* D  yWatt said the players paid the adjusted bill and added a $1,900 tip and left the restaurant.
* g7 _7 y% s, P, i" B% L
- L/ g, a5 W: f8 ATerrigno said the group, which included team captain Ethan Moreau, attempted to negotiate a discount on the bill.

. D  J# t5 d4 b3 p  S7 sHe 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.
+ f( O8 Z) ]5 P' o+ b  u
  g. l, z: D/ q) {, g4 y8 ?4 a# AThe restaurant tried to charge for a bottle of an imported expensive brandy after one of the players took a swig straight from it.
$ V+ B$ G, l$ g$ R. G  e
"They refused to pay for the whole bottle because they didn't consume the whole bottle," said Terrigno.

7 ]9 c  `( `1 `He said there's no way the restaurant will serve other clients from the same bottle.

0 X6 u# X/ }" zTerrigno said at one point he threatened to phone police.
  h$ Y; Q6 a" p2 p( [2 [
"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."

* S2 B$ Y" T$ @Terrigno 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.