Restaurant owner facing death threats after hunting down customer and calling him 'pathetic' in wild DM exchange over $250 cancellation fee he kept due to hospital visit - but still labels his illness claims 'bogus'

A New York man was labelled 'pathetic' by a Boston restaurant owner who lashed out at him after he disputed the hefty cancelation fee incurred when he canceled a reservation due to being hospitalized.

In a prolonged and now-public social media back-and-forth, Trevor Chauvin-DeCaro was hunted down and contacted by Boston restauranteur Jen Royle, who owns the North End eatery TABLE.

She found his account weeks after he'd canceled a booking and sent him a message. 

'Hi Trevor,' she wrote in an Instagram DM. 'I own TABLE restaurant in Boston.

'I just wanted to personally thank you for screwing over my restaurant and my staff when you disputed your cancellation fee. I really hope in the future you have more respect for restaurants, especially small businesses such as mine. Pathetic.'

Jen Royle of Boston's TABLE restaurant lashed out at a customer whose credit card company disputed his cancelation fee after he canceled due to hospitalization

In December of last year, Chauvin-DeCaro made a reservation at TABLE for January 6, when he was planning to take a trip up to Boston to see Madonna at TD Garden, according to the Herald.

He had booked their seven-course dinner - which includes a whole roasted garlic dish, a roasted tomato and mozzarella salad, grilled octopus, meatballs, tortellini, parmesan and artichoke risotto, and a desert of profiteroles and sorbet. 

But Chauvin-DeCaro told the outlet that after his AmTrak train was significantly delayed, he found himself in the hospital.

'The delay was a blessing in disguise. Thank God we were still home,' he said. He proceeded to head to the ER, after which the entirety of the trip was canceled.

The cancelation meant Chauvin-DeCaro and his husband were forced to make several calls to hotels and businesses, including TABLE, to let them know they wouldn't be coming.

Because the cancelation occurred inside of the 48-hour window before the TABLE reservation, the staff told the pair they would have to pay the $250 cancelation fee - $125 per person.

Chauvin-DeCaro contacted Chase, his credit card company, to activate the card's travel protection insurance, which includes coverage for cancelation due to hospitalization and 'never thought of it again,' he said - until Royle sent her DM.

Chauvin-DeCaro was astounded by the content of Royle's message and sent a lengthy response explaining the situation and expressing his disappointment with the way she had responded.

He told the Herald her response was 'simply uncalled for and wildly unprofessional.'

'Even if you disagree with how a customer goes about canceling a reservation, her response was outrageous and unhinged. There’s no reason to ever do that to a potential customer,' he said.

After the original exchange, the pair went back and forth a while longer. The messages were all shared online by Chauvin-DeCaro and have since amassed some 23million views on X.

At one point, Royle posted on her own Instagram as well as the restaurant's addressing the fight:

'BOO HOO. Then call and cancel and explain! DISPUTING A CANCELLATION FEE IS WRONG!!!!

'I spoke to about a dozen business owners today who shared their frustrations in people walking all over them and disputing their credit card charges. THIS HAS TO STOP! The lack of respect and entitlement is gross,' she wrote.

She then told Chauvin-DeCaro that she had contacted her legal team.

'We privately messaged you and you chose to take this public,' she wrote via the business's Instagram.

'The amount of slander that the business is receiving is absolutely horrific. You will be hearing from our lawyers.'

Trevor Chauvin-DeCaro said he was distraught over the 'simply uncalled for ... wildly unprofessional' and 'unhinged' messages from Royle

TABLE is a family-style Italian restaurant where guests are seated at a table with strangers and served a several-course meal with no substitutions for $125 - which is also the per-person cancelation fee

In previous profiles, Royle, who formerly had a successful career as a sportscaster, has been noted for fighting aggressively with customers online 

Since the dispute went viral, the restaurant's social media accounts have gone dark.

After Chauvin-DeCaro posted the exchange, as well as his response, online, the chef now claims she is receiving death threats. 

The restaurant's legal team is threatening action against him as the blowback continues to roll in. Royle's attorney, Michael Ford, told the Boston Herald last week that his client 'doesn't want to be hurt anymore' by the 'false statements, the defamatory statements, the death threats, the abusive comments' she's allegedly been receiving. 

'She’s been facing attacks on the internet, and now she is getting bombarded with death threats,' he said, adding that he believes Chauvin-DeCaro's hospitalization story is 'bogus.' 

The restaurant and its myriad reviews - many of which are now negative - can no longer be found on Google or Google maps.

A 2021 profile of Royle describes the chef as having little regard for business etiquette or public perception when it comes to calling out customers with whom she disagrees.  

'She also isn’t shy about getting into public spats with rude customers,' wrote Scott Kearnan for Boston Magazine several years ago.

'Maybe a diner emails with a complaint about her no-excuses cancellation policy, which charges truant guests in full unless someone else takes their seat. Maybe someone leaves a nasty review online, all because she told their party they were getting too rowdy during dinner. 

'If a guest dispute comes up (as they do at every restaurant) and Royle thinks that she’s right (as she freely admits she almost always does), she has no problem making it clear to customers, past or prospective.'

DailyMail.com has contacted Royle's representatives and Chauvin-DeCaro for additional comment.