Restaurant forced to close over pro-Trump Facebook post
Arizona restaurant closes its doors after receiving angry response.
An Arizona restaurant was forced to close its doors indefinitely this week after a politically charged Facebook post the eatery’s owners wrote prompted mass criticism from social media users.
Christopher Smith and Jay Warren, the owners of Cup it Up American Grill in Tucson, posted a statement on the restaurant’s social media page last week with a list of things the two support and resent, including the president, kneeling for the anthem and late night hosts, Vice News reported.
The post stated: "We believe in and support 100% in the following: OUR President, Always Standing for the National Anthem, repealing Obama Care…”
The post also listed, God, the Bill of Rights, drug screening for welfare recipients and the U.S. Armed Forces among others they praised.
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Their list of things they don’t believe in or support included: “Those that DON’T respect our President, Armed Forces and First Responders, kneeling for the national anthem, Antifa, fake news, global warming and late night hosts getting political…”
The post concluded with: “If you like this post, please share it with 5 friends and we look forward to your next visit! If you disagree with this post, please share it with 100 friends and we won’t be expecting you anytime soon!”
The restaurant’s post also mentioned the eatery would not broadcast NFL games until “the organization got it together.”
The post, which went viral, was met with widespread backlash and criticism, forcing the restaurant to delete it and all its social media accounts.
The restaurant received “so many angry phone calls” that several employees chose to quit, reports say.
"People threatened to burn down the restaurant with the owners in it. It's a crazy world we're in," Ron Sanchez, whose daughter worked at the eatery, told ABC15.
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Ericka Ayup, a regular customer of the restaurant, told ABC 15 the post was not “smart” but respected their opinion.
"I respected their decision to speak up and be patriotic whether people agree or not," Ayup told ABC 15. "It wasn't smart for them to do what they did from a business aspect especially being down here in the University -- which is more liberal and young."
The restaurant apologized for the post but social media users flooded the eatery’s Yelp page with negative reviews.
Last Monday, the restaurant posted a statement on its door, announcing it would be closing indefinitely.
“We have made a decision to close our doors indefinitely as of today, Monday, October 9, 2017. The safety of our employees, and our families is of great concern and is our #1 priority at this time,” the statement said. “We would also like to extend a special thanks to our Military and First responders. Thank you all and God Bless."