Beware the twaiter: In Asheville restaurant, a couple’s emotional break-up is fodder for Twitter

| March 12, 2011 | Comments (45)

Here’s a fascinating timeline of tweets from Twitter user @fullerbee, aka Fuller Baudoin. Fuller is the daughter of Michel Baudoin, the owner of Bouchon, the beloved French restaurant on Lexington Avenue. She works occasionally for the restaurant.

From this public timeline, we get the blow-by-blow of a couple’s break-up at Bouchon. In this day and age, anybody could be material for a wired observer. One note: @fullerbee posted a photo on twitter of the couple in question, which seems now to have been removed from her Twitter stream. Welcome to the new frontier.

Read on:

Apparently, she cheated on him! #BouchonBreakup 

Ok, so there’s this couple in Bouchon right now that’s been fighting forEVER. They’ve been here since around 7. It’s now 9:30

She’s crying and he looks sooo pissed. It’s very awkward because she still has a mussel bowl in front of her. #BouchonBreakup

Oh maan! They paid their bill a long ass time ago. He’s furiously putting his food boxes into a.

Neill was about to leave this on the table for her. His number is at the bottom. 

If I was him I’d totally be making a scene. Her eyes are so red. I love drama so hard. 

Thanks to bartender Jen for turning me onto this saga. Ahahahha! #Bouchonbreakup

They’ve been here so long he just yawned. I wish there was a mirror in front of me so I wouldn’t have to keep turning around #bouchonbreakup

Our staff here are all smart-asses. #BouchonBreakup

Jen is sooo happy. She’s got some fries (and eating em like popcorn) and watching them like they’re her daytime stories. #BouchonBreakup

Now they’re one 3 tables left in the restaurant. I can almost hear them! #Bouchonbreakup

Wouldn’t it be AWESOME if my dad went over all, “And how iz everysing over erre wiz ze love birdz?” #Bouchonbreakup

What are they possibly talking about? They’re done. And there needs to be more screaming. I can only see his reactions #Bouchonbreakup

Apparently he’s old fashion and she’s never ever gonna change #bouchonbreakup

Anand he was supposed move in, but he didn’t, somebody changed their mind. They’re talking about marriage and everything. #bouchonbreakup

These recent details from an acquaintance sitting at a table near them #Bouchonbreakup

They’ve been together for 4 years. Well, they WERE together for 4 years…

They’ve been together for 4 years. Well, they WERE together for 4 years… #BouchonBreakup

Oh and they were cussing each other out and everything! Now they are the last table in here. Oh, they’re leaving #BouchonBreakup

Wtf? A car full of people just picked her up. They just went by. Weird. #BouchonBreakup

Ah, the saga is over. But man was it intense. #BouchonBreakup

 

Category: News

About Jason Sandford: Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville. View author profile.

  • marc

    Well, that's one restaurant I won't have to patronize.

  • Mike

    Wow. Kinda makes me not want to patronize Bouchon ever again. Disgusting.

  • theo

    remind me to never eat there

  • Seriously….

    Ash, I am your biggest fan.

    I admire how you utilize your site to expose corruption, abuses of power, and give much needed attention to issues that the mainstream media refuses to cover; giving this town a much needed and appreciated outlet for transparency.

    The above post is a perfect example of how the new frontier of media can be used for the power of evil or good.

    I am hopeful you were using this above post as a cautionary tale of what electronic media has access to. To illuminate or humiliate, the power is in the blogger.

  • tofutown

    put down your phone and serve dinner

  • daisy

    that's truly sad – the story and his daughter's childish insensitive tweet. where's the care? turns me off to bouchon.

  • skcus

    I agree with Seriously….this brings to mind when you posted photos of a 2010 Bele Chere patron being attended to by paramedics. Then as now you've chosen to humiliate not illuminate.

  • Michel, Vonciel & Fuller Baudouin

    This is an unfortunate example of how the use of social media can have unintended consequences. We regret if anyone was embarrassed or offended.

  • bijou

    creepy. some people need to get a life.

  • Isle of Man

    Seriously…,

    I agree, it's great to see the underbelly of Asheville businesses occasionally exposed on here. But based on past experience with this blog and its comment section, if Bouchon were a paid advertiser on Ashvegas, this post would have never happened.

  • Fraklin Zappa Jr. The II

    Who needs tw(s)itter, anyway? Technology: The Joke.

  • Mike

    Jason, when did this breakup happen? I couldn't find most of it on @fullerbee's twitter page. Perhaps she removed it after realizing (or perhaps being told) how truly tasteless this little play-by-play tweet session was? Here's another gem she tweeted from March 5. She apparently also works at Vinnie's:

    "Apparently it's White Trash night at Vinnie's. The number of teeth you're missing directly corresponds to how many kids' meals you'll order."

    Guess I will never patronize Bouchon nor Vinnie's again. Thanks for posting this.

  • susie_the_bear

    Don't air your dirty laundry in public if you don't want people to see it. If you're going through an awkward, drama filled break-up, don't do it in a restaurant full of other customers enjoying their night out. Have some courtesy for others and some self-respect. So many people take their cues these days from 'reality' TV and think that making a scene is the normal way to behave. This couple was just tacky–so tough titty on the Tweeting!

    Bouchon is fabulous and Jen always rocks! And to all the people with the negative Bouchon comments–I'm glad you penny-pinching, water-drinking, entree-splitting whiners won't be taking up my favorite seats at the bar anymore!

  • Orbit DVD

    We've given up asking people to get off their cell phones when we check them out. It's a new age with new technologies.

  • rosey

    This is just happenstance gossip gone public. Can any of the folks who have posted disdain for this post honestly say they haven't tittered about an entertaining table next to them before?
    If names were named, sure, it's a violation. But this was harmless entertainment that we've all shamelessly enjoyed from time to time far before social media existed. Don't penalize a perfectly fine restaurant. A large part of the reason we leave our homes is to enjoy and observe the drama of every day human interaction. Social media has changed this experience for sure. But I eavesdropped on the juicy stuff far before twitter and I'm pretty sure you all did too.

  • toni

    To the couple, if it wasn't the waitress it would have been a customer.

    To the offended and otherwise nonrelative, they probably went home and blogged about it.

    And to the server, the owner's daughter no less, you're Fired! I would never pay you to be tweeting when you could have been cleaning or offering help. He probably could have used a cab or a beer or perhaps if you checked on your table they wouldn't have been so open with their argument.

  • Blue Holler

    Never been there, but now I think I have to go.

  • Stephen

    What fullerbee posted might not have been in the best taste, but by choosing to have their messy breakup argument at a public place, it became a public matter. I am more offended that a couple did that at a restaurant than that somebody tweeted about it. Think of how many other people's dinner was ruined because of that scene.

  • craggybender

    Tasteless, immature, stupid? Indeed. But I certainly will not hold the owner of the restaurant accountable for his child's bad choice. If I did that, then I wouldn't eat anywhere, ever, including my own kitchen.

  • Murphy

    Whether or not "Jen" did the right thing or not … it really puts the restaurant in a bad light that an employee (granted the owner's daughter) had "spare time" on her hands from taking care of customers to "twitter the night away" about the activities of patrons of the establishment … I too will keep my distance from Bouchon.

  • Ash

    @ Mike: The tweets went out March 9, I believe. It looks like they've been deleted.

    @ the Baudoins: Thank you for your apology.

    @ Isle, i don't play favorites with advertisers.

  • Michel, Vonciel & Fuller Baudouin

    This is an unfortunate example of how the use of social media can have unintended consequences. We regret if anyone was embarrassed or offended.

  • mattevans

    Unlike most here, I thought this was great. There's no need for everyone to be so up-tight, right? It makes me want to go to Bouchon and high-five everyone that works there.

    Good post Ashvegas.

  • Mike

    Cool, Matt. Let me know next time you're at Bouchon and I will be sure to tweet your every bite, sip and trip to the restroom. Maybe I'll take a pic of you taking a piss. You wouldn't mind, would you?

  • Isle of Man

    Ash, I and at least one other person I know have had a few comments ignored and never posted. These were comments that would be considered negative posts (civil, but negative/critical) about certain businesses and their owners who, I later noticed, have been your paid advertisers. Just a coincidence?

  • marc

    To those who question the negative reaction: had this been another customer Tweeting about the incident, it would be a different situation. One has no expectation of privacy when in public, even in a private business. In this case, though, it's an employee (and owner's daughter). And one *does* expect to be treated with respect (even more than deserved, occasionally) by the employees/owners, especially when the forum used for the disrespect is a worldwide one.

  • Matt Howard

    Wow I feel really old school for being under 40. I have never tweeted, nor have I ever felt compelled to follow someone elses tweets. Ever.

  • Ash

    Isle of Man, I guess I'd have to know the specifics of the comments you speak of, but 99.9 percent of comments made get posted, especially those that are civil, and regardless of whether they're positive or negative.

    I also have very few paid advertisers, so I think you may be jumping to conclusions. Just because an ad is posted on this blog doesn't mean I'm getting paid. Most are posted simply because I like, and want to support, that particular business.

  • Isle of Man

    "Most are posted simply because I like, and want to support, that particular business."

    Which is perhaps even more incentive to ignore/delete unflattering comments about that business.

    I don't care to re-hash particulars on the business I'm referring to (it's been several months), I just found it interesting and a little hypocritical on your behalf to highlight unflattering details about the behavior/actions of one particular business, while ignoring or deeming unworthy a few posts from your readers about certain details on another local biz… one who has had their logos on your page.

  • Orbit DVD

    Full disclosure. A man in a wheelchair (that I found out nobody likes) came into TV Eye Friday night and wanted to trade me two dollars and two condoms for a cigarette. I don't smoke and have been snipped and had to point out to him that he had a cigarette already behind his ear. He left grumbling something and I immediately posted about the exchange on our Facebook page.

    We all are learning about how to deal with social norms with all this new technology.

  • mattevans

    MIke,

    Though I am downtown pretty much everyday, I have never been into BOUCHON. However, I would like to go in after reading this post. Could you make the bathroom pics black and white so we could capture the artistic aspect of it. I'll tweet at you when I go.

    I still think this is one of the best posts on Ashvegas in a while, or at least one of my favorites. Then again, I'm 24 and I tweet, laugh and enjoy my days.

  • greenasheville

    Paris Hilton of the South, indeed! So glad to be over it and out of there!

  • Greg

    There are several reasons to comment on such a post, and its comments. First off, the #bouchonbreakup was completely and extremely disrespectful, a poor example of how people should be treated. Second, the couple may have made a better choice as to where they decided to have it out (but did they plan this?). Third, there's no denying that all things that happen in public are "fair game" to be made public. Fourthly, Bouchon serves great food and are strong supporters of the Asheville small business community. Should they pay for the tweeting impulse? Perhaps and perhaps not. Lastly, hopefully we will all ultimately benefit from this post as it may keep people from eavesdropping on/tweeting about other peoples' personal business, which is just flat out wrong. Lastly, if there is a positive to take from a terrible use of social media, it's that hopefully folks will think twice before they make the same mistake and just be civil/proper/respectful/decent to and supportive of each other…

  • Jeff

    Yet another reason I don't hang out with twits.

  • D. Dial

    The owner Micheal, works hard in his restaurant….don't hold him responsible for what his kid did.

  • anonymous

    All I can say is WOW! I work in a well known Asheville restaurant and would fire somebody immediately if they ever did something like that. Some comments are defending what Fuller did because the customers were making a scene in the restaurant. Is that an excuse for the server to stoop to their level? I think not. Granted, I do not know this woman personally. But damn girl, get a life and focus on work not other peoples bullshit. (That is if she can ever get another restaurant job in this town.)

  • nope

    anonymous, couldn't agree with you more. one would think that Michel and Vonciel would attempt to instill a from respect for others within their daughter… especially respect towards the patrons of their restaurant, who are paying ( way too much for some menu items… such as french fries!) to be there. how embarrassing! guess they may have to ship her off to another city if she has any hopes of working in a restaurant again…. but probably not

  • mattevans

    No one has seemed to realize that FULLER wasn't working that night. This thread, man…

  • B2

    I remember when I worked at a restaurant and was almost done with my shift at closing at 10pm when some a-holes would walk in at 5 minutes 'til 10 and then proceed to sit and shoot the shyte after they already consumed whatever they ordered and I had nothing to do but wait for these inconsiderate types to finally leave since they were the only table in the place. If Twitter had existed back then, I bet I would have killed time by writing about them too.

  • mattevans

    I am curious, is this the only media that has grabbed a hold of this situation? Meaning, had anyone here heard of this or has anyone heard about this outside of reading it here on Ashvegas?

  • 828

    Someone should have mentioned earlier that she wasn't working, not that it makes that big of a difference… it really just shows that she clearly has few to no other means of occupying her time

  • marc

    Working or not, she's still the owner's daughter and an "occasional" employee, and as such, her actions with regard to the restaurant still reflect on the restaurant. And yes, this is news outside this posting because Twitter posts are archived, so someone searching for Bouchon reviews from the Twitterati would find them (particular since the restaurant name was part of the hashtag).

  • mattevans

    828, everyone was too busy slamming the restaurant and assuming.

  • double standards?

    In so many of the above posts, writers were quick to say that Fullerbee should have been working, cleaning, etc., etc… How many of those comments, I wonder, were made from someone's office chair during business hours… Was it inappropriate for the owner's daughter to do anything that might be harmful to her parents' business, probably. But, everyone gets bored at work and can get some enjoyment from a little drama in their workplace to break the monotony.

  • phillip

    "it really just shows that she clearly has few to no other means of occupying her time"

    You don't eat at restaurants or hang out at places you enjoy?
    Nobody should have had to mention that she wasn't working, everyone just jumped to the conclusion that she must have been working. People are way too quick to get all up tight about stuff that really doesn't matter in the long run. I haven't eaten here, but like others have said, if the food is awesome and the owner cool, then who cares if his daughter made a poor decision. We have all had our kids make poor decisions or have ourselves made some pretty bad decisions. Quit being so self righteous.