A couple of new developments...
1) One of the reviews cited in the Eater investigation has been removed from Citysearch. It was arguably the most superlative review, citing Empanada Joe's as the "savior of fast food." The question is, why is that review no longer on Citysearch? Did Citysearch remove it after suspecting it was a fraud? Or, did Empanada Joe's PR decide to remove it for fear of being found out?
2) I wrote a letter to the PR firm representing Empanada Joe's straight-up asking if they were dispersing fraudulent reviews on message boards. Here is the response...
Thanks so much for your interest in Empanada Joe's. We have not planted
any reviews of any of those sites - people are very happy with the
product. Hope you've had a chance to try it. Thanks so much!