When the Houston Astros arrived to Philadelphia for Game 3 of the World Series, some local restaurants faced backlash and bomb threats for rumors about “refusing” to feed to the opposing team.
Mike’s BBQ and Angelo’s Pizza, two popular South Philly businesses that often provide food to the city’s professional teams, even engaged in social media posts joking about not accommodating the opposing team.
Danny DiGiampietro, the owner of Angelo’s Pizzeria on 9th Street, told The Post that Houston fans have been prank-calling his eatery nonstop — with some hecklers even tracking down his license plate and his home address to share online.
On Tuesday, an individual claiming to be a cousin of an Angelo’s staffer tweeted that Astros fans “threatening to bomb his store.” They explained the pizzeria closed at 7 p.m. and did not want to make food during the game.
However, there is more to the story.
“Right after the Phillies beat the Padres [in Game 5 to win the NLCS], the Astros reached out to our business email asking for catering for after Game 3 [of the World Series on Tuesday],” DiGiampietro said. “I let her know we couldn’t do it… A sweetheart of a lady, she was very complimentary, and they wanted 10 pizzas.”
DiGiampietro said Angelo’s was unable to accommodate the Astros’ postgame request due to the business being closed, along with higher demand in orders with the World Series being in Philly.
“We have no problem cooking for anybody. The problem was where it was just so late,” he said. “I have to be here at 3, 4 in the morning to bake all the bread. There was just no way, so it didn’t work out.
“People are telling me there are stories that we left the Astros malnourished and all that, and that was not the case at all. There was no nefarious intention behind it and there was no ill will.”
DiGiampietro — who also runs the Angelo’s Pizza Instagram account — said “all hell broke loose” Tuesday, after he posted an Instagram Story video, saying, “If you think I’d cook for the Astros, you’re out of your mind. We said no to them.”
At the time, he was dropping off sandwiches at Citizen’s Bank Park for the Phillies.
In a separate post, DiGiampietro reposted a story from Phillies team chef Keith Rudolf showing a party tray of Angelo’s hoagies for the Phillies ahead of Game 3.
“There are TikTok challenges to throw cheesesteaks in my face, you get $250… The girls [working at Angelos] were saying that people with southern accents were calling the phones, telling us to ‘eat s–t’ and ordering pizzas,” DiGiampietro said. “It turned into this whole thing, then it got picked up by news outlets.”
DiGiampietro made it clear that his explanation is not an apology to Astros fans for not accommodating the team after hours.
“I’m not apologizing, because the Phillies are my team and if they wanted food at 11 o’clock at night, there is a 100 percent guarantee I would’ve done it. That’s my team, they are my people,” he said. “But to go completely out of our way, I haven’t slept… there was just no way we could do it.
“We did not take an order from them and say no. The lady was a complete sweetheart and I was a gentleman to her like I am to anybody. We have had a bunch of Astros fans coming in and we’ve had nothing but fun with them. We don’t want any problems with anybody.”
On Wednesday, DiGiampietro also shared a series of Instagram Story videos addressing the situation.
“Here’s what I’ll say about that… to keep people here until 11 o’clock at night when we close at 7 and mostly never have product after 6 o’clock and we don’t deliver,” DiGiampietro said in the clip. “For example, the Eagles are getting food today, right, like they for do every roadtrip. Do we deliver it to them? [No]. They come pick it up and it’s a lot more than 10 f–king pizzas ain’t it — and it’s not doing a World Series game at 11:30 at night.
“If we’re open during hours of operation and we can accommodate, we don’t give a sh-t who you are… I’m enjoying it, I think it’s funny. They’re ripping me apart in Houston, apparently making fun of me. It’s two fanbases having a little fun during a highly contested series for all the marbles.”
As for Mike’s BBQ? They told The Post that they did not refuse service to the Astros.
In a text message exchange obtained by The Post, showing a conversation between Mike’s BBQ and the Astros’ dietician Lisa Clarke, the team requested a catered meal set-up with Latin cuisine.
The text messages show that Clarke had contacted the wrong restaurant, with the intention of reaching a “Venezuelan place.”
In the messages, Clarke even appears to call Mike by the wrong name and refers to a prior conversation with a man named Kevin, who had apparently given her the wrong number.
“No. Sorry, circle back to Kevin or Keith,” Mike replied, adding, “He made a mistake. Circle back, and get the correct number. Have a nice day.”
On Tuesday, Mike’s BBQ took to Instagram to share their side of the story, explaining that, while they are “diehard” Philly fans, they “don’t refuse serving anyone.”
Mike’s BBQ told The Post that they have even served other teams on multiple occasions, including the Braves and Mets.
Mike’s BBQ faced criticism for posting a text exchange with a chef friend joking about “not feeding [the Astros],” after the team had reached out.
“It was a funny post as the Astros contacted the wrong restaurant,” Mike’s BBQ wrote on Instagram. “We did help them contact the right one. Both parties on this text knew that. It was very funny saying we weren’t going to feed them. Which we couldn’t anyway. We don’t make Latin food. Nor were we open those days. That was their wish.
“Every team should have the opportunity to try local cuisine, or cuisine of their choosing when they are on the road. I’m happy that it fired up Philly fans. I thought it would bring lots of laughs. However I don’t want people to think we refuse to feed anyone. We really don’t. We’ve given thousands of dollars of food away just during the pandemic to anyone that needed it. And even ball players need to eat! Hope this clears this up. Cheers! And of course! Go Phillies!!!”
