People might additionally have had an issue with DeAngelus, who is supposedly footing the legal bills for the alleged driver of the vehicle that killed the Knupp kid, remaining a partner with Ortt (until it apparently became financially inconvenient to do so.) I have no idea who is paying the alleged driver’s legal bills… but again, I’ve heard it enough times that I think that it’s reasonable to assume that it may be a contributing factor in people’s continuing anger towards Ortt. 

Speaking for myself only, my decision to stop giving the guy money came when he released that idiotic public statement that no one asked for. It was careless, thoughtless, wildly unnecessary and indicative of a level of ego and narcissism that I don’t especially care for, especially in light of the tragic circumstances. Having your buddy’s six is one thing. But feeling the need to put out a press release about what a stellar person your buddy is before the Knupp kid’s body  was even cold was pretty friggin’ gross, and more than enough for me to decide that my money is better spent elsewhere. 

I’ve seen that first release referred to as “a mistake.” I disagree. A mistake is when I forget to put the trash out on collection day. A mistake is when someone orders a budweiser and I accidentally grab them a Coors instead. It isn’t a mistake to sit down, crank out four or five paragraphs, presumably edit them and show them to other people, and then to release them into the wild. That’s more of what I would call a “tactical error in judgement.” The guy thought his opinion carried more weight than it apparently did, and that everyone just absolutely NEEDED to hear his take. All he had to do was keep his trap shut. That’s it. And then when the tourist’ money stopped flowing, he suddenly realized, wow, gee, he might have done a whoopsie. 

EDIT: “Those individuals are not the reason this hasn't moved to a conclusion. Lack of cooperation by involved and interested parties is, despite their claims to the contrary, according to the Knupps.” I’ve heard this enough times as well, to indicate that this is another reason people might not be too thrilled with Ortt companies.

People threatening anyone else over this is both stupid and illegal, and I hope anyone engaged in such nonsense is held fully accountable. Heckling and harassing staff and patrons of Ortt restaurants is disgusting. The staff are just trying to pay their bills, and the patrons are just trying to get a beer and a bite. If anyone doesn’t like Ortt’s behavior, just go somewhere else to eat. There are like 200 options around here. He’ll get the message. The level of animosity (from both “sides”) has become kind of ridiculous. I myself am fully content waiting for the attorneys to dot their i’s and cross their t’s in an effort to successfully bring charges and secure a conviction of a guilty party or parties. And I’ll just go have a beer somewhere else.