A restaurant in Buellton used a profane anti-Trump hashtag in a recent Facebook post, which is generating a lot of reaction.
Industrial Eats is known for its pizza, sandwiches, and variety of small plates.
The restaurant posts a lot of food pictures, but a recent post used an anti-Trump hashtag.
“To say that our restaurant is not political is to not open your eyes,” said Jeff Olsson, owner of Industrial Eats.
Olsson says he didn’t give much thought to the picture caption, which was posted on Cinco de Mayo. The post featured a Mexican-style entrée.
“There’s one and a half million users or posts online, and it auto-filled, and I was like ‘oh that’s funny,’ and I hit that,” said Olsson.
Many customers commented on the Facebook post.
Some praised the business for sharing its political views, saying “I so love your hashtag,” “I will now be returning faster than intended,” and “You just gained a customer.”
“The restaurant has always worn its politics on its sleeve,” said Olsson.
However, other customers say food and personal opinions don’t mix.
One woman who didn’t want to be named told KSBY she won’t eat there again.
“We should have safe places like restaurants where it doesn’t matter what your beliefs are, and I really think they have taken that away from me,” she said. “I worry that if I walked in there with a MAGA hat or something like that, it would trigger them to treat me differently because of whether I believed in it or not.”
Others commented on the post saying “You are off my list of restaurants,” and “You lost my business.”
“I don’t understand the ‘politics doesn’t belong in business’ sentiment, especially with the time that we are in. Everything is political and food is very political. Yeah, it was just kind of snarky,” said Olsson.
Olsson says the post was intended to poke fun and he didn’t mean to upset anyone. He says he doesn’t regret the post, but if he could do it again, he might take more time to think about it.
