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Maybe He Had a Bad Pizza There...

Mike Buzalka, Executive Features Editor

November 27, 2007

1 Min Read
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Mike Buzalka

A local New York City TV station, WCBS, recently reported that former president Bill Clinton had sent a threatening letter to a New York restaurant demanding that it remove a picture of his daughter Chelsea posing with restaurant owner Nino Selimaj. The snapshot had apparently been on the wall of Osso Buco in Greenwich Village for several years, alongside other celebrity pictures of the type restaurants routinely post as a way of saying, “See, our food is so good that even famous people eat here!”

No one—not even Selimaj—denies that the Clintons have the right to ask that the picture be removed. As a “private person”—which is how her father’s letter described here—Chelsea is entitled to not have her image used to promote the business.

On the other hand, why pick this fight, especially in such a high-handed way? The letter, written on official “William Jefferson Clinton” stationary, reportedly threatened to “exercise any and all options available to us if you refuse to comply”.

We have two theories: One, Selimaj is milking a minor matter for all it’s worth. After all, this was the same restaurateur who a few months earlier had debuted a $1,000 pizza generally regarded as a blatant publicity stunt (it featured half a pound of Petrossian caviar and four ounces of Maine lobster tail, among other toppings).

Or, the famously food-loving ex-president had a bad meal experience at Osso Buco and is taking his revenge.

About the Author

Mike Buzalka

Executive Features Editor, Food Management

Mike Buzalka is executive features editor for Food Management and contributing editor to Restaurant Hospitality, Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News. On Food Management, Mike has lead responsibility for compiling the annual Top 50 Contract Management Companies as well as the K-12, College, Hospital and Senior Dining Power Players listings. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English Literature from John Carroll University. Before joining Food Management in 1998, he served as for eight years as assistant editor and then editor of Foodservice Distributor magazine. Mike’s personal interests range from local sports such as the Cleveland Indians and Browns to classic and modern literature, history and politics.

Mike Buzalka’s areas of expertise include operations, innovation and technology topics in onsite foodservice industry markets like K-12 Schools, Higher Education, Healthcare and Business & Industry.

Mike Buzalka’s experience:

Executive Features Editor, Food Management magazine (2010-present)

Contributing Editor, Restaurant Hospitality, Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News (2016-present)

Associate Editor, Food Management magazine (1998-2010)

Editor, Foodservice Distributor magazine (1997-1998)

Assistant Editor, Foodservice Distributor magazine (1989-1997)

 

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