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A Chicago-based LGBT-friendly restaurant is fighting against hate with love. Over the weekend, popular restaurant chain Hamburger Mary’s was the target of hate-filled vandalism, WMAQ reports. Founded in San Francisco in 1972, Hamburger Mary’s is a restaurant chain that typically opens in LGBT-friendly neighborhoods across the U.S. It promotes itself as “an open-air bar and grill for open-minded people.”
Co-owner Ashley Wright says he discovered the words “Die f*gs” spray-painted on the back of one of the bathroom doors in the restaurant on Sunday. He says his immediate response was anger and annoyance.
“My first reaction when I saw it was actually annoyed. Literally a split-second later it was just sort of this gut wrenching feeling. This was someone who came into my house, my establishment, and spray painted a hateful message to me and my customers and staff.”
After moving past his initial feelings, Wright decided to respond with love. He painted a rainbow flag over the hateful message and painted the word “love” at the top.
“It wasn’t just a tag. It was a pretty blatantly hurtful thing that someone wrote on there. I decided I wanted to do something. Instead of painting it back to black, I wanted to cover it with something that represents the opposite of what this person wrote.”
Wright says the whole incident was caught on surveillance camera. According to Raw Story, the perpetrator is said to be a woman who was seen entering and leaving the restaurant. The tape was handed over to police who are currently investigating the incident as a hate crime, Wright told WMAQ.
Since the restaurant was recently featured on an episode of Undercover Boss. Wright doesn’t believe the hate crime was just an accident.
(Via WMAQ/Raw Story/The Advocate)
