February 23, 2018
phillychitchat/Instagram
Screengrab of negative OpenTable review for The Little Lion days after Old City fire on Sunday, Feb. 18.
As the Old City community rallies to support tenants and others affected by last Sunday's devastating structure fire at 239 Chestnut Street, a tasteless social media post surfaced Friday showing one woman's dissatisfaction with her scuttled breakfast plans at The Little Lion.
The corner restaurant next to the apartment building sustained serious damage during the four-alarm blaze and announced Friday it will be closed for an estimated two months, at a minimum.
Philadelphia photographer Hugh E. Dillon, who runs the Philly Chit Chat blog, caught sight of a disturbing screen grab on the restaurant's Facebook page. An OpenTable user, listed only as EmmaN, gave the restaurant a single star review and complained about how she wasn't warned of the fire.
"My mother came to visit me while I am away at school so I thought this would be a nice place to take her," EmmaN wrote. "Opentable failed to warn me that there was a fire in the building right next to the Little Lion and that the restaurant would be closed. We came all the way to this restaurant only to have to stand and watch as workers closed off all the shops on that..."
It's not entirely clear if EmmaN is upset with OpenTable or The Little Lion, or doesn't understand what a review is, but needless to say, The Little Lion didn't deserve a one-star review. Lives were at risk, people are displaced and a building will now have to be demolished.
The Little Lion is seeking help from Philadelphia restaurants to provide temporary work for its employees.
"While we are temporarily closed, we want to take good care of our amazing Little Lion family and staff," the restaurant wrote in a statement. "We have over 80 employees and we are seeking temporary placements for them at fellow restaurants, bars and other businesses. We have had a number of generous offers and other restaurant leaders are stepping up to help – and we are working day and night to work with them to help our team."
