Democrat Running for Governor Tries to Cancel Black-Owned Business for Serving a Republican

Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms is attempting to cancel a black-owned business for serving a Republican.

Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, joined online calls Friday to boycott Toast on Lenox, a popular black woman-owned Atlanta restaurant, after it welcomed Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson, according to a video posted to Instagram.

Rather than push back against the boycott efforts, Bottoms appeared to amplify the backlash, acknowledging the “online chatter” surrounding Jackson’s visit to “minority-owned businesses” and a “black-owned business owned by a woman.”

Although she did not directly name the restaurant, Bottoms warned that anyone who welcomes Jackson “has made a calculated decision based on the benefits and the risks of doing that.”

Jackson campaign spokesman Garrison Douglas criticized Bottoms’ remarks, pointing to her record during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Monday press release shared with the Daily Caller.

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Toast on Lenox pushed back against the criticism in an Instagram statement, saying a photo featuring a guest was taken during a visit and that any political statements made in the post reflected only the individual and not the restaurant’s views, according to the Friday post.

The owners said the restaurant “has always been a place where all people are welcomed with the same hospitality and respect.” They added that their focus as black entrepreneurs has been serving the community, creating jobs and providing hospitality — not endorsing political candidates.

Chef and co-owner Virgil Harper previously addressed the controversy in a separate Instagram post, writing, “A Discussion is not a Vote” with the hashtag #StayWoke, according to a report from TheGrio

The boycott campaign is not an isolated moment in Bottoms’ political career.

As mayor during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bottoms ordered Atlanta back into shutdown restrictions, a move that contributed to the closure of local businesses, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report.

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