Spreading rumors and lies
 

Now 680 people have read the unfounded rumor started here by a member and it is absolutely not true. There should be a legal remedy against such slanderers and their posts should be deleted immediately.

Evergreen Buffet & Grill owner’s ‘heart broken’ by malicious email

March 5, 2014 By Meta Minton 40 Comments


Mei Chen and her family operate the new Evergreen Buffet and Grill restaurant in The Villages.
Mei Chen and her family operate the new Evergreen Buffet and Grill restaurant in The Villages.

When Mei Chen and her family left the Fujian Province of China a little over a decade and a half ago, they had a dream of coming to the United States and running a restaurant.

For seven years, they have operated the popular China Gourmet take-out restaurant in Colony Plaza shopping center.

Buoyed by the success of that location, the family recently opened Evergreen Buffet & Grill in Pinellas Plaza in The Vilages.

But the opening of the brand-new restaurant has been soured by a malicious email circulating in The Villages, alleging that credit card numbers at the restaurant have been compromised.

Chen, the mother of three children attending the Villages Charter School, said the email, which is being circulated and recirculated in The Villages, is breaking her heart.

“If this has happened to anyone, they should come to the restaurant and we will make it right,” she said.

But she said no one has ever come to the restaurant and said their credit cards were misused.

She said she has even contacted law enforcement officials, who told her there was little they could do.

“We love The Villages. We have worked hard to build a restaurant here,” Chen said.

She said she became aware of the email on March 1. She fears that a competitor may have initiated the email in an attempt to damage her new restaurant before it has a chance to take off.

Still she remains grateful for the opportunities she and her family are enjoying here. She said they wouldn’t have had these opportunities in China.

“We love The Villages. It’s a great place to be,” she said.

How very sad. I hope this email won't stop people from eating there. It wouldn't have stopped prior to this post and it certainly wouldn't stop me now. The only thing stopping me is that I rarely go to Brownwood.

It is not in Brownwood..it is in Pinellas Plaza

AMEN, Al & Jane! I agree with you 100%

Oh, thanks for the info. Since I need my library fixes, I'll drop by and check it out.

Started here ? Has admin been notified ? Would love to know who the sickie is that did that !

It's libel not slander. Slander = spoken words, libel = a written defamation.

Although damages would be hard to identify, it certainly could be brought in front of a judge and or jury to determine.

Just because you post under a alias screen name, it is not at all difficult to get a subpoena and aquire the IP address that is logged with every post. The Internet service providers will quickly issue a report including name address, type of device and even the version number of the browser used to make the post.

The moral of the story, "Think before you post"

For clarity, there is an email circulating around that is false (outside of TOTV). I have received it also. The user on TOTV posted that email as follows:

I did not believe the post any more than I believed the email when I saw it earlier today. After seeing the article, I did reply back to the person who sent me the email to send the URL to the article back up the chain.

Libel or slander its a bet that if someone posted it on TOTV they also repeated it to friends and neighbors so I suspect both forms of defamation have been exercised. The defense to defamation is truth

In my view the bigger issue is the affect credit card fraud/hacking is having on us all. We simply do not trust our credit cards safety any longer.

Many people are refusing to use their credit cards for smaller purchases.

The President & CEO of Visa is pushing for removal of magnetic strip credit cards, etc.

This is such a sad story. :(

I would be hreartbroken too, if I worked hard, to build a business, and someone said things that weren't true to try and destroy it. I believe that is slander and the person would get caught and sued for damages incurred.

Let's frequent this business in support.

I just posted on the other site that it can happen anywhere. The OP though it was your restaurant and that was the bad post for your restaurant. I think most of the other posters know that it can happen anywhere and you have to be careful. I have never had a meal at your place, but I hope something like this headline doesn't hurt you.

I received that email (from friends here in TV) several days before it was posted here, and my first thought was, "This is not only defamation of the business owner......

...but most people don't even know what 'compromised' means when it comes to fraudulent use of a credit card number (usually online)--gotten from what could have been any number of credit card readers that customer used in the days and weeks before using it at this restaurant." Just because that restaurant was supposedly the last place the customer used the card, it doesn't mean that the restaurant tried to charge $2000 for the meal bill.

I thought the email was extreme and damaging to the business, because the customer was not actually billed for the $2000. It was a failed attempt by "somebody", not necessarily that restaurant.

This started as an email that was circulated and I guess it was reposted on here to catch the attention of more residents. This type of thing ( credit card scanning ) has happened so many times it's just a damn shame. I check my cards online on a daily basis just in case. Which is a good idea for everyone. As for the restaurant in this mess, I've been there before and will continue to go. I wish them luck and hope their business does well.

Something good always seems to come out of something bad ............ we did not even know the restaurant was there, but now we do so we will go and try it out. Love, love, love Chinese food!:)