Subway owner’s one star Google review about a rival food store sparks controversy – so did it cross the line? [Video]

00:02 EDT 18 Oct 2024, updated 01:08 EDT 18 Oct 2024

A Subway franchise owner and political candidate has been forced to defend a scathing Google review he penned about a rival food store.

Businessman and Queensland Liberal National Party candidate Damian Culpeper gave the One Mile Bakery in Ipswich a one-star review, complaining about the quality of the bread. 

‘Very average – well below what I would expect from a bakery,’ Mr Culpeper said – although his verdict was far outweighed by its 4.5 out of 5 star average rating by other customers. 

‘Dry, maybe yesterday’s bread. I don’t think the bread was fresh.’

The One Mile Bakery questioned if Mr Culpeper had even visited the business but declined to comment further.

‘If people want to write nasty reviews, then that’s fine,’ a worker said.

But Mr Culpeper’s mild criticism of baked goods has been called out by Labor, because he proudly describes himself as a champion of small businesses …