Chef Ryan Fakih's Beity — a Michelin Guide-listed Lebanese restaurant in Chicago's Fulton Market neighborhood — was hit in the dead of night. The first fake one-star review arrived at 3 a.m.. The barrage continued for two hours. By morning, the rating had dropped from 4.6 to 3.9 stars.
Copy-paste attacks
The fake reviews were nearly identical to those posted simultaneously on SHO, an omakase restaurant in Old Town — the same generic complaints about chicken, curry, and pasta, none of which appear on a Lebanese menu. The pattern was unmistakable: a single operator hitting multiple restaurants with the same template.
Then came the message: reach out about "taking down the negative reviews." The extortion playbook, now familiar to dozens of Chicago restaurant owners.
Fighting back
Fakih's first instinct wasn't to report to Google — he reached out to previous guests and followers on Instagram, rallying his community. He noted that these reviews "hold a lot of power over smaller businesses." After receiving the extortion message, he reported to Google, which eventually took down the reviews.
What this case reveals
The 3 a.m. timing is no accident. Scammers strike when owners are asleep, maximizing the window during which the damaged rating is visible to potential diners checking Google before making reservations. By the time the owner wakes up, the damage is already done — tables that could have been booked are lost forever.