A number of restaurants around the country faced employee and consumer protests in recent days over their apparent support of police and perceived lack of public commentary on the Black Lives Matter movement.
The move comes amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man, while in police custody in Minneapolis last month.
But such protests are a sharp pivot from just a few months ago, when many restaurants were being applauded for offering discounts and other support for first responders in the early days of the coronavirus crisis.
At a Condado Tacos location in Columbus, Ohio, several employees refused to fill an order for 250 Ohio Highway Patrol officers last week, according to the Associated Press.
“I have been participating in the protests in Columbus, and seeing the way that police have been treating peaceful protesters, it was immediately clear that it was against my principles to be complicit in that order,” Condado worker Jake Widdowson told the AP.
In Columbus, Ohio, about 20 employees at the Northstar Cafe staged a walkout to protest a management decision to give uniformed police and firefighters a 50% discount, according to local media reports.
In Chicago, an old flyer promoting a program to donate Stan’s Donuts to the Chicago Police Department, went viral on social media. A number of consumers vowed to boycott the doughnut chain over its support of the city’s police department.
Stan’s Donuts responded to the criticism via its social media channels.
“In April and May, we created a Pay It Forward program to give back to frontline workers fighting coronavirus,” the brand posted. “The photo that has been shared about our support of CPD was part of this initiative to support the people that have been working to fight this global pandemic. The program is over. At Stan’s, we believe in justice and equality for all people of color. Thank you for your passion and activism. We are learning from everyone who is standing up for what is right.”
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