"One person who called said 'Watch your back. We know where live and we're going after you,' " Aguirre said.
In addition to the death threats, the restaurant has been targeted with numerous people phoning in fake take out orders, and either not showing up or canceling the orders after the food has been prepared. People are also making fake reservations using Open Table which the restaurant has to pay for, regardless of whether the people show up.
"Two people ordered $150 worth of food for lunch to be picked up today. They called later and said, 'Oh, you're the one who doesn't want Romney in your business' and they canceled their orders, even though the food had been prepared," he told 7NEWS.
Rosa Linda has catered events for candidates including Obama. But there's a difference between supplying food and supplying a venue for a campaign stop. The Romney request wasn't about making a dining stop, but a campaign stop, where it intended to capitalize on the Aguirre's religion and cultural heritage. Oscar wrote on their Facebook page:
We did not refuse him service yesterday THAT IS FALSE! as stated in the article when we were contacted by the campaign of Candidate Romney on August 6th, by a former mormon missionary that he would like to bring the candidate here, NOT TO EAT but; it was presented to us that he wanted to do a political stump here. Talk about our small business and how because we share our religious views with the candidate and are Latinos it would be great for him to do a campaign stop.
We Did say NO because we are not Republicans, Nor are we Democrats. We will welcome any sitting President Of the United States. But, We Did not want to be a campaign stopping place....Since this article came out we have been getting hate emails, from people across the country, people sending us death threats and people calling us telling us we are racist... that they hope we go out of business.
All are welcome to join us for family meal! we may not be your cup of tea but we still welcome anybody with open arms.
We DID NOT WANT TO BE A POLITICAL STOP!!
Rosa Linda is concerned this could put them out of business.If that happens, it won't just be the restaurant losing. So will the more than 6,000 needy people who receive free meals from Rosa Linda on Thanksgiving.
Please let the American public know that we are not racist or bigots. We are just a working family wanting to help our community and our country by serving those in need," he said, adding, "Please stop the hate."
Consider them told. If you're in the neighborhood of 33nd and Tejon in Highlands, please stop and eat at Rosa Linda. They have lard-free beans and whole wheat tortillas. They list calorie counts on the items they promote as particularly healthy.
As for Mitt Romney, he didn't go hungry. According to Westword, he got a burrito at Chipotle.
This wasn't about refusing to serve Romney food, but refusing to allow Romney to use the restaurant to stage a campaign event.
Heads-up to those considering registering here to comment with a rant against Rosa Linda or the Aguirres: Don't bother. We have a strict comment policy that prohibits the use of profanity and personal insults and attacks on anyone. Your comment and registration will be deleted as soon as it is called to my attention. Comments in response to offensive comments will also be deleted. If our regular readers notice an offending comment before I do, they will flag you as a site violator.
