A former team member who had access to the Facebook page for Abbotsford’s Ricky’s Family Restaurant shared images and videos that appear to be threatening politicians and promoting an event called “Convoy to Ottawa 2022 Restart.”
A pair of videos were shared to the restaurant page which shows a number of men on horseback and was originally posted to a page called Alberta (Coutts) Freedom Horseback Riders 2022.
The Ricky’s page shared the video on Sunday (Feb. 6) and stated “Yellowstone North. Take ‘em to the bus station!”
Minutes later the page appeared to have expanded on the original video and stated “Time to take some MPs to the train station.! “ Yellowstone ”
On the TV show Yellowstone, taking someone to the train station is code for killing them and discarding their body off a very high ledge.
The Ricky’s page also shared the link to a group called “Convoy to Ottawa 2022 Restart” on Saturday (Feb. 5).
The Facebook page of a @Rickys_Grill in #Abbotsford appears to be threatening politicians (Yellowstone reference) and is also promoting "Convoy to Ottawa 2022 Restart" - https://t.co/r5Q4R9f29X pic.twitter.com/lmnlxpTBfG
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) February 7, 2022
The News reached out to Ricky’s corporate and the local franchise on Monday for more information on the decision to share the posts and the new owner stated he does not have the proper credentials to delete the posts and someone who previously had access is sharing the videos and information.
“This restaurant has been sold a month ago and I don’t have the credentials for the Facebook yet,” new owner Gautam stated. “Will get it removed with the help of head office.”
The News did publish a story back in 2015 announcing that Allan and Cheryl Dawes purchased what was formerly the ABC Country Restaurant and transformed it into a Ricky’s.
RELATED: ABC Country Restaurant to become a Ricky’s
The new owner stated that someone from the previous management group who still has access to the page has been sharing items.
He added that he does not approve of the posts and removed them once he became aware of them through The News.
Amanda Lim, the marketing coordinator for FDF Brandz, stated that Ricky’s does not agree with the views posted.
“These posts were made by someone who is no longer part of our team, but still had access to the page,” Lim said. “We have deleted his posts and are in the process of removing his access to the Abbotsford location page. We absolutely do not agree with his posts and they in no way reflect Ricky’s views as a company. We are extremely apologetic to those who saw the posts and were hurt by them.”
The posts were deleted within an hour of The News informing Ricky’s of the content.
