Rizzo's damaged by an 'unruly guest'; Downtown Memphis restaurant to reopen for dinner

Rizzo’s was closed Friday for lunch due to damages made by an "unruly guest" on Thursday night.

“The most important thing is no one was hurt,” owner and chef Michael Patrick said.

On Thursday around 9:10 p.m., a man walked into the restaurant and sat down at the bar. According to Patrick, the bartender immediately sensed something was wrong when the man began reaching across the bar and grabbing things. The bartender alerted the host. When the customer was asked to leave, he became belligerent and threatened to kill everyone in the restaurant, Patrick said.

Patrick, who was not at the restaurant at the time, rushed over.

“As I was walking in the door, I heard someone yelling,” he said. “The next thing I know, the concrete cigarette dispenser came flying through the front door.”

Before the man was detained by members of the Rizzo’s staff, he ripped the restaurant’s AT&T console off the exterior wall, Patrick said. The damage to the wiring left the restaurant's phones and computer systems down.

According to the police report, members of Rizzo's staff detained the man until the police arrived at 9:40 p.m. The man, identified as Jonathan L. Miller, 29, was taken into police custody and transported to Regional One Medical Center.

Miller faces a vandalism charge in connection with the incident at Rizzo's.

This wasn't Miller's first incident in Downtown Memphis. During the past week, he was asked to leave both Blind Bear and Silly Goose for his behavior, according to officials at those spots.

Patrick expected Rizzo's to reopen for dinner Friday.

"The odds of something happening like this Downtown is rare," Patrick said. "It is normally very safe Downtown here on South Main."

Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.