Restaurant has 'severed ties' with co-owner after racist Facebook posts spark backlash
A Michigan restaurant co-owner has parted ways with the business and issued an apology after it was discovered that his personal Facebook page was riddled with racist memes, jokes and posts.
Gary Redmon, co-owner of Redmon's Kitchen and Bar and an employee at Top Shelf Downtown in Muskegon, had a social media profile filled with offensive posts, mostly directed at black people and white supremacy. While his personal page is now private, the page were disturbing enough to warrant a heavy response from the community, Fox 17 reports.
Several Facebook users started flocking to the restaurant’s page, sharing that they would never step foot in the establishment.
There were also several posts on the Redmon’s Yelp page.
“I will not be spending my money where I'm not wanted ... because I'm black,” said one user. “So here is my review for all black and brown people he's a bigot ... I don't mean to expose him but someone has to see the truth on what type of establishment you could be walking into.”
“It's hard to support a restaurant when the owner has publicly made it known that he is racist. I will not be supporting this business,” another user posted.
“Do not support this man,” someone else posted on Yelp. “He is a known racist and does not deserve our business. He ended up needing to remove his Facebook account because people were screenshooting his posts and memes and reposting to prove how horrible this man is.”
Jim Noel, an owner of the restaurant, told Fox 17 in a statement that Redmon is no longer associated with the venue.
"Redmon doesn't represent Top Shelf or Redmon's Kitchen and Bar views. We apologize to everyone who was offended,” Noel said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that this has happened, but we have severed ties with Mr. Redmon."
Redmon posted an apologetic statement on his Facebook page, which some users were able to screenshot before Redmon set it to private.
"I am sincerely sorry for the way it has made so many people in the community I care about feel,” he wrote. “I am ashamed and not proud of my past actions and highly care about how everybody in the community feels."
The 110-seat restaurant is known for pulling inspiration from “different nationalities,” co-owner Jim Noel told MLive earlier this month. They serve everything from chicken and waffles to Tex-Mex cuisine.
Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Redmon’s Kitchen + Bar for comment. A manager at Top Shelf told Yahoo that he was “pretty sure” Redmon “was bought out” but was “not positive.”
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