A restaurant owner, chef, and cookbook author, J. Kenji López-Alt, tweeted out on January 27 how he would not allow anyone wearing a Make America Great Again hat inside his restaurant.
López-Alt runs Wursthall Restaurant and Bierhause in San Mateo, CA.
The tweet read:
“It hasn’t happened yet, but if you come to my restaurant wearing a MAGA cap, you aren’t getting served, same as if you come in wearing a swastika, white hood, or any other symbol of intolerance and hate.”
The tweet was later deleted but someone had taken a screenshot.
López-Alt then added in response to someone replying to his tweet:
“If you’re comfortable sitting next to a MAGA wearer I’m probably not interested in serving you either.”
To another, he wrote:
“I didn’t say maga hats are racist. I didn’t even say the people wearing them are racist. I said MAGA hats represent support of a racist and racist ideas. Wearing one doesn’t necessarily make you racist but it sure associates you with them.”
And while many supported López-Alt’s tweets, there were others who criticized him, saying:
“Well that sucks, I really liked my cookbook – to the shredder it goes and will no longer be a patron.”
“Dude, do yourself a favor and don’t politicize your business. You may find yourself wondering where your profit margins went someday.”
“Must be talking about the money he will miss out on but it is his choice.”
“Why eat an establishment where the cook will probably spit on the food!”
“Could you post something on your restaurant’s site so we know what’s acceptable? I need to see the scale for curse words, MAGA, vegan hats (they’re intolerant to good food and culture, right?), red star commie hats.”
He responded to the accusation of discrimination – saying:
“No. This has zero to do with the first amendment, first of all. Secondly choosing not to serve someone because of their intolerance is not the same as choosing not to serve someone for any other reason. You don’t pick being gay. But you do pick being a bad person.”
On Friday, he then tweeted out his written statement regarding the controversy.
He started by apologizing to both his staff and partners at Wursthall for “making a public statement” without considering his team’s thoughts about his bold words — admitting how it was “disrespectful and reckless” of him.
He then added:
“My goal at Wursthall was for it to be a restaurant where all employees and staff are treated with respect and trust, and by making that public statement without your consent, I failed at that goal. I will work hard to earn back that trust.”
He then ended with a statement about who Wursthall would serve.
“Wursthall will continue, as it always has, to serve all customer regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual preference, gender orientation, disability, or political opinion — so long as they leave hate, anger, and violence outside of the doors of our restaurant.”
NOW WATCH: Sweden Actually Turns It’s Garbage Into Energy | Save The World