Chicago Restaurant Apologizes for Ray Rice 'Knockout Deal' Tweet

The Ray Rice “knockout deal” at Cheesie’s Pub & Grub in Chicago is off the table.

And someone lost a job over the errant tweet, according to Cheesie’s general manager, Chance Lydick, whose Lake View eatery bills itself as “home of America’s best grilled cheese.”

Cheesie’s Twitter account carried a tweet, since deleted, that read: “TINDER TUESDAY = 20% off tabs! It’s a knockout deal... we’re calling it Ray Rice ;-)“ according to DNAinfo Chicago.

Ray Rice is the NFL running back who lost his job this week after a casino elevator video, showing him knocking out his fiance cold with a left hook in February, was obtained and published by TMZ.

Lydick said a “disgruntled ex-employee” posted the tweet and once he saw it, the tweet was deleted.

“The actions today on Twitter are not directly from the Cheesie’s family,” Lydick told DNAinfo Radio. “And we would like to apologize to anyone affected by domestic violence. ... We do not condone this behavior, we do not condone Ray Rice, we do not condone domestic violence.”

Lydick said Cheesie’s would be conducting a neighborhood fund raiser to assist people affected by domestic violence.

“The tweet today struck home for a lot of people, especially some of our employees,” Lydick said, which prompted the idea for the fund raiser.

Lydick said he also fired the eatery’s social media manager for not changing the password to protect the company’s Twitter account.

“Social media is a godsend to restaurants and especially small businesses, and it can also be something that ... can be misused,” Lydick said. “Small businesses live and die by word of mouth.”