Raging Hot Chicken owner threatens to knock reviewer 'into unconsciousness' over bad Yelp rating

Killian says those who've marked down his restaurant are trolls, not real customers

The owner of a spicy chicken restaurant has proved he can’t handle the heat - after threatening Yelp reviewers with violence over bad reviews.

Gabe Killian, the co-owner of the Raging Hot Chicken pop-up in LA, admits he is the person behind the abusive online responses - including one in which he threatened to knock a customer unconscious after he left a bad review.

However, Killian told The Independent his responses were never actually in response to real customers, but rather trolls who've never eaten his food.

One reviewer said Killian - who’s also a stand-up comedian and mixed martial arts journalist - reached out to him via Yelp messenger and Facebook after he left his verdict, where he called the reviewer a “true loser” and “idiot.”

“The fact that your ONE ONLY REVIEW was a negative one means you are a piece of s**t,” Killian wrote.

And on Facebook, Killian allegedly continued to harass the customer with threats and vulgar language, including one where he told the customer he was “gambling with his life.”

However, Killian told The Independent: "I would never say anything to an actual customer. The one person I did threaten was not because he was a customer. He just HAPPENED to have been a customer."

And "the threat came after he had made it personal, following an extended back and forth conversation," in which Killian claims he received threats from the customer in return.

As for his own threat, it was rhetorical, according to Killian.

The incident is one of many instances where the restaurant owner has lost his temper in response to bad Yelp reviews.

On the restaurant’s Yelp page, Killian can also be seen responding to one negative review: “Is it true that your mom is a ho?”

But Killian told The Independent he does not "respond to negative reviewers who are real customers," and the screenshots and quotes were "sent to trolls, not real customers."

And while he recognises his attitude and responses "could be damaging," Killian said many people are "on my side."

Despite the negative reviews, Raging Hot Chicken still boasts three and a half stars on Yelp.