Staff at Mexican restaurant threatened and review bombed after owner's daughter endorses Trump
Tortas Manantial, in Phoenix, Arizona, came under fire following a post from Karla Barbosa which showed her sporting a red MAGA hat.
Barbosa, whose father Marco Antonio Barbosa owns the restaurant, shared the post on Instagram, where many viewed it as an endorsement of the president.
'Many are mad but trust the process,' Barbosa's caption read. 'America will be great again.'
The post went viral and drew outcry from many in the Phoenix community, who called for a boycott of the restaurant, accusing it of turning its back on immigrants amidst the ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] raids.
Barbosa quickly turned her account private, but not before she was flooded with negative comments.
Her father's premise was similarly targeted and currently has a 2.5 star rating on Yelp, which has turned off reviews amid the furor.
'What matters most to me is that this has reached the point of threatening the business, and that worries me for my teams,' Owner Marco Antonio Barbosa said in a video addressing the controversy.
'They are the ones I am truly concerned about for their peace of mind.'
Owner Marco Antonio Barbosa said he and his family are not against immigrants following a controversial social media post of his daughter expressing her support for President Donald Trump
Reviews over the last few days have been overwhelmingly negative, with many directly addressing the scandal.
'I won't be supporting a business that disrespects its own roots while promoting divisive values,' one reviewer wrote.
Do yourself a favor and take your money somewhere that truly respects its customers and the culture it profits from.'
'The food is bland, overpriced, and terrible. The service was slow while the ambiance screams danger. The establishment also supports Donald Trump. That's a big red flag,' another added.
'Racists to their own people we here all live together as one all different races and ethnicities mixed,' one reviewer said.
'You forget where you came from to the owners. And by the reviews your food ain't worth the money anyway. Don't sell Mexican food if you don't like the culture and people.'
The restaurant's owner insisted he is not against immigrants and claimed that he and his wife in the past have been victims of anti-immigrant sentiment.
'I just found out that there is a video circulating about things like we are against our people, against immigrants, which is totally false,' he said.
'We've had to live through many very difficult things that we wouldn't wish on anyone, and we would be the last to oppose something that could hurt our people,' he said.
Barbosa's mea-culpa did not sit well with people who flocked to the business' Instagram account.
'With much respect, sir, but your daughters were the ones who posted everything about the president,' one person wrote. 'This conversation would have happened with your daughters who posted things on social media.'
'Extremely disappointed to find out about them being Trump supporters during this time and to say trust the process,' another user said.
One person went as far as slamming Barbosa for appearing in front of the camera and shielding his daughter.
'Mr. Barboza, don't fool us. If your daughter had the courage to voluntarily upload a video wearing a Trump hat and repeating phrases from his election campaign,' they wrote.
'Let her also have enough courage to come forward and offer a genuine apology to the immigrant community, whom you say is so important. Until you do that, your 'apology' is merely regret for the damage the business will suffer.'
Another user said the controversy has made them rethink their decision to dine there.
'Damn, that's sad. I really wanted to try this place out when I go out there, but I will definitely not support this place anymore,' they wrote.
A Tortas Manantial employee told the Daily Mail that they were not interested in talking with the media.
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