Controversial pizza owner throws family with kids out over 'arrogant' reason... who's in the right?

A Massachusetts pizza shop owner, who shot to internet fame following a viral argument with Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, has come under scrutiny after admitting to kicking 'nuisance' parents and children out of his restaurant. 

Charlie Redd, the owner of Dragon Pizza in Somerville, Massachusetts, divided opinions this week with an Instagram post slamming parents for failing to control their kids in his pizzeria. 

'Anyone who has visited our restaurant Knows we are a pizza shop that LOVES KIDS,' Redd wrote in a post. 

'Sadly, we had to demand a group of negligent parents Friday to take their families home because they were disrespecting our dining room, other guests, and our team. 

'Our restaurant, or any restaurant, is not a place for un-supervised children to play. It is here to share dining experiences.' 

Redd went on to list six rules to eating in his pizzeria, including criticizing parents who 'treat our pizza as a cheap, simple option to feed their children until they can have their own dinner.' 

The post divided opinions, with some people agreeing that unsupervised children can ruin their dining experiences while others felt kids should be welcome in such a casual setting. 

Days after Redd's post, Portnoy waded into the controversy as he shared a response video to his 3.6 million X followers, and said that while he is not a fan of eating around children, he slated Redd as 'an arrogant piece of s***.' 

Not everyone agreed with Portnoy's disapproval of kicking the families out of the shop, with many commenters praising Redd's decision to boot out the pesky children. 

'You have to keep reasonable calmness. Sorry y'all had to do that, but it has to be done,' one comment read. 

'To many parents these days don’t understand that they need to actually parent their children. Good on you for sticking up for your staff and other patrons,' another said.  

Portnoy said in his video that he 'despises' Redd, referencing his furious argument with Redd in 2023. 

The incident came as Portnoy filmed one of his 'one bite' pizza review episodes for social media, where Redd became furious after his slice received just a 6.4 rating. 

The Barstool owner went on to brand Redd's store 'the worst pizza place in America', and in his response video this week Portnoy didn't hold back on showing his dislike for Redd. 

He said the debate over kicking children out of the store 'has created quite the (conundrum) for yours truly because I absolutely despise this dude (Charlie) Redd. He is an arrogant, piece of s**t, c********r. There’s absolutely no other way to put it.' 

'Just an absolute dirtbag. Loves the attention of controversy. No one would know he kicked this family out if he didn’t put it on his Facebook page and try to act like a badass then lock all of the comments,' Portnoy continued. 

In his Instagram post, Redd insisted that his pizzeria 'welcomes all children dining in our restaurant with open arms', and said they 'love' sharing a game room with children. 

But, he wrote, 'We Loath parents who use our games as babysitters while they ignore their children and let them damage and abuse our games.' 

He added to Boston.com that the incident was the first time in over six years that he has had to ask a patron to leave his store. 

Portnoy said that while he agreed that kids can be a nuisance in restaurants, 'there’s no need to post about it and maybe these kids weren’t doing anything.' 

'Because let’s be honest this guy is acting like his pizza place is a five-star Michelin restaurant,' he said. 

'He probably blew this out of proportion because this guy just likes being an a**hole. This guy is a professional a**hole. There’s no other pizza place that keeps ending up in the news.' 

'Buddy, you own a little pizza place with shitty pizza in Davis Square. You know what, I’m against this guy. It’s a pizza place. So the kids were a little loud? Get a grip, fatso.'