When you run a late-night burger joint on South Beach, you can expect the occasional drunken-celebrity encounter. But Stephanie Vitori, owner of Cheeseburger Baby, tells New Times she's never experienced anything as bad as what Busta Rhymes pulled early this morning.
According to Vitori, Busta busted into the restaurant close to 6 a.m. and demanded to cut the line to get his food faster. When the restaurant refused, he threw a tantrum, calling one employee a "fag" and Vitori a "bitch," and later threatening to "come get [them]."
No word on whether he threatened to tear da roof off.
"We have had everyone from Jay-Z to Anthony Bourdain eat at Cheeseburger Baby," Vitori says. "Never have we had a problem with a celebrity. That changed last night."
When Busta rolled into Cheeseburger Baby, Vitori says, it was 5:45 a.m., a time that's typically busy for the restaurant, as servers are slinging burgers to partiers on their way home from clubs. Busta wanted to be served first, and the restaurant refused.
"He got very upset when we wouldn't take his order first when he was the last one to come in. We treat everyone as equals here at CBB. You can't skip the line of ten people waiting in front of you," Vitori explains.
Instead, he returned to his car to wait for his order. But after his food was delivered to him in the car, Vitori says, "He came back in the restaurant and started becoming outwardly angry. He was calling our delivery driver Santiago a 'fag' multiple times, and me a 'bitch' and [telling] me 'to shut the fuck up' because we put his salt, pepper, ketchup, and mayo -- that he asked for -- on the side.
"On the side is just how we do it," she explains. "We don't want your burger getting soggy!"
On the next page, see what it took to get Busta to leave the restaurant and see photos of more famous celebrities who've been to Cheeseburger Baby.
But Busta wasn't having any of it, Vitori says. "He caused such a scene I was forced to call the cops on him. This is when he exited the restaurant."
Busta's freakout didn't end there, though. "Top it all off, a few minutes later he called us to let us know there was no cheese on his burger, which was untrue, and that he was going to 'come get us,'" Vitori says.
Damn, Busta. We've all felt that late-night, booze-fueled rage in the after-hours, but throwing a full-fledged adult tantrum, complete with sexist and homophobic slurs, over a cheeseburger? That's low.
Vitori concurs. "I deal with drunk and disorderly people all the time. I have been doing this for 11 years, but never in my life have I felt more disrespected as a business owner or woman."
Plenty of celebrities have passed through Cheeseburger Baby without behaving in a way that inspired Vitori to call them out in New Times. For example:
Famous rappers.
Formerly famous rappers.
And effing Beyonce. (We think; in those sunglasses, and without colorful overlay text, it's hard to tell.)
Follow Ciara LaVelle on Twitter @ciaralavelle.
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