Heart Attack Grill owner “Dr.” Jon Basso: “Lose weight, or hurry up and die”

Two people have had heart attacks while at the Heart Attack Grill, and according to owner “Dr.” Jon Basso, that’s the whole point of the restaurant, it’s not just a silly gimmick. He claims to be “giving people what they want” in order to shock them into losing weight.

One of the spokespeople, Blair River, died from complications related to pneumonia in 2011 at age 29.”He was our spokesperson, but he forgot about his health, and he died,” Basso says on the Gluttony episode of the Showtime series 7 Deadly Sins. “It’s a sacrifice that has to be made. Somebody has got to stand here and say ‘Screw it! Wake up, world, you’re fat. No, I’m not going to call you plus-size, I’m not gonna say you’re portly. No, you’re fat. Lose some weight, or just hurry up and die and be done with it.” In 2013 52-year-old John Alleman, another unofficial spokesperson, had a heart attack and died while waiting at a bus stop in front of the restaurant.

The Heart Attack grill offers burgers sautéed in lard, fries fried in lard, and milkshakes made with butter. They also serve jello shots in syringes, and their vegan option is Lucky Strike cigarettes. The entire experience is a sideshow. The waitresses are all trim women dressed as sexy nurses who spank customers who don’t finish their food. When you walk in, you are given a gown and a hospital bracelet. “Our menu was purposely designed to be offensive. It’s absolutely as unhealthy as possible,” Basso says in the documentary as creepy music plays.

During the episode one happy customer revealed, while lifting up his shirt to show off his scar, that the last time he visited the establishment he ate a “Triple Bypass” burger, and soon afterward he actually got triple bypass surgery. The major surgery did not dissuade him from visiting the Heart Attack Grill again, though, but this time he only got a Single Bypass.

Dr. Jon continues, “We don’t want to be popular, we want to be infamous, we want to be hated. I wake up in the morning and say ‘How can I be even more despicable? Will the evil Dr. Jon finally make everyone on Earth so fat that they can’t walk anymore? Maybe, he’s trying.'”

Previously “Dr.” Jon ran a workout facility called “In And Out.” When he got sued by In-N-Out Burger, he became fascinated by their business model. “They were simply supplying people with what they wanted.” He thought he’d give people what they want, but in a way that might actuallyhelp them. “They’re never gonna lose that weight, they’re never gonna live a healthy, normal life. The food is so cheap relative to what they earn, there’s no limit.”

“I’m only reflecting society. I’m only doing to them what they want me to do,” he says in defense of his business practice. As part of the show, people who are over 350 pounds get weighed on a giant scale, and everyone applauds if they are shown to be above the magic number. Dr. Basso says he enjoys this part because the people are excited to be cheer for, but then they go home and think, “Wow, I’m gonna die. I’m a fat freak, and that’s why everyone is applauding for me.”

Basso even keeps some of the remains of someone who died in his restaurant in full display. “I’m here with the cremated remains of someone who died at my restaurant. He died of a heart-attack at my restaurant, and I’m putting the bag clearly on the table,” he said on Bloomberg’s In the Loop with Betty Liu last year. “I wish that Burger King, McDonalds, and everyone else would do the same thing.”

These are some extremely harsh statements for someone to make, he’s woven a pretty sinister business model. Do you think he’s actually helping people lose weight by being disgusted by unhealthy foods and portions?