Pizza chain kicks out Republicans & Trump supporters, then realizes meaning of FAFO – 'deeply sorry'
By newseditors // 2025-03-04
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Word started to spread over the weekend that another restaurant had gone political, choosing whether or not to serve potential customers based on their political stance. (Article by J0shua C. republished from WLTReport.com) The establishment in this case happens to be a pizzeria in Minneapolis, MN. From what I can gather, the staff at Davanni’s readily took the order — and the money — of a group of patrons who had reserved one of the restaurant’s “party rooms”, like the one seen here: But at some point during the meal, at least one staff member chose to confront the group. In fact, the manager of that particular location approached the group of diners and claimed they had broken the rules set by the Corporate Office. You see, the group included a bunch of Republicans having a meal together… and they apparently forgot to take off their MAGA hats, with more than one person even forgetting to hide their American flag paraphernalia. How dare they show patriotism or exercise free speech openly!  Whatever is this country coming to… And so, touting compliance with company policy, the manager kicked the group out according to a short mention in the Independent Sentinel:
A Minnesota pizzeria manager wouldn’t let local Republicans eat in Davanni’s Pizzeria in Edina. Minnesota. She said they don’t hold political events. However, they weren’t holding a political event. They just wanted some pizza. When asked why they were told to leave, saying they were there only to eat, she responded, “I’m going to refer you to our corporate office.” They were wearing Maga hats and she kicked them out.
The manager reportedly claimed that ‘political events’ were not allowed at the restaurant. The group was then kicked out — even though there was no POLITICAL EVENT; only a meal by a group of Trump-supporting Republicans who happened to be wearing hats and shirts that identified them as such. To be fair, Davanni’s does indeed have a rule regarding political events listed on their website. It’s even on the page specifying the rules for the Party Room reservations. But the rule has nothing to do with a person’s political leanings.  In fact, it doesn’t REALLY even have to do with “political events” overall, if you want to get right down to it. The rule is obviously written to denote a CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING EVENT. Here’s the full list of rules on the Davanni’s Party Room webpage:
RULES AND GUIDELINES
  • No room fee is charged but the group’s attendance number must meet or exceed the room’s posted minimum as shown on our Party Room Booking Request inquiry form, and the expected minimum spent on food and beverage is $7 per person.
  • We reserve the right to relocate you to another space or open the room to other guests if your number attending is fewer than what you said was expected/promised.
  • Note that we allow 30 minutes in between reservation times to clean and reset the room.
  • Direct adult supervision is required for groups of young people less than 16 years old.
  • If you’re running late, please call the shop immediately. Failure to notify us of a late arrival may result in the release of your room. Please notify us of any cancellation.
  • Orders placed separately will be served separately. We strongly recommend you place your order in advance. We can help with buffet planning.
  • No sales, multi-level marketing, for-profit, or political fundraising use is allowed.
  • No confetti, tape, glue, staples, paint, or permanent markers.
  • No outside food or drinks are allowed. A cake is the only exception. We offer several desserts.(Emphasis Added.)
Nevertheless, the group was kicked out specifically for political reasons. That’s when word started to spread online… and the restaurant started feeling the pain of discriminating against a large percentage of their potential customers. And what is more, a fairly high-profile Republican Congressional hopeful was part of the group. Dalia al-Aqidi, the Republican who is challenging Ilhan Omar for her seat in the U.S. House representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, was part of the group, in fact. And she is corroborating the story going around, confirming that the group was kicked out specifically because of their political stance. And that’s when word really started to spread. Davanni’s Coorporate Office ultimately put out a statement claiming the mishap was a simple mistake on the part of its staff who misinterpreted the rules regarding political fundraising events. I get the sense it wasn’t exactly as innocuous as all that. It certainly seems to me that the group was knowingly targeted by an individual in the employ of the restaurant chain who likely knew she was doing so with no valid company backing — and simply didn’t care. At any rate, that’s when the pushback really picked up steam. The calls to boycott the pizzeria chain are ongoing, and the company is eager to smooth things over in the aftermath of the controversy. Members of the group have started to speak out, indicating that the group had just left a district Republican convention before heading out to eat at the pizzeria. They were clearly targeted for their political stance according to at least one of diners who was kicked out, as reported by the local Fox News affiliate, KMSP:
A person, who was a part of the group of about 20 people, said they were coming from a Senate District 50 Republicans convention nearby and went to Davanni’s in Edina to eat Saturday afternoon. That’s when he said an employee approached them about their motive for being at the restaurant. AK Kamara, who was a part of the group, said they had finished eating, for the most part, service was fine, and they had paid the bill, including tip. He said that is when the group felt confronted by an employee, who was not serving the table during the meal. Kamara said the worker questioned why they were wearing a political button. He said the button had “SD 50 Republicans” written on it. He said the employee also asked whether the group was holding a political meeting and mentioned if they were, it was against restaurant policy. When the group responded and said they were just there to eat, Kamara said the employee challenged their response. “She pushed back, is she specifically trying to target us. So, the way it made me feel was we were being discriminated against on the basis of who we support politically,” said AK Kamara, Minnesota Republican National Committeeman. “Clearly, I’m wearing this American flag hat. We had other members in our group that were wearing Make America Great Again hats. I mean, we’re a bunch of Republicans, so I’m assuming maybe that had something to do.” A meeting has been set for Tuesday, during which the group and representatives of the restaurant chain are planning to meet and talk about the situation.
Dalia al-Aqidi, while clearly indicating the group was kicked out for political reasons, is striking a conciliatory tone online — pointing to the likelihood that the local staff ‘acted independently’. Here’s the full text of Dalia’s text:
Until Tuesday… Before making any judgments, I acknowledge that this individual may have acted independently and may not reflect the policies of the establishment @davannis I have always been a strong supporter of local businesses and would never wish harm upon anyone, including this person. My hope is that this serves as a lesson in tolerance and respect. I do not wish for her to lose her job, as she may be supporting a family, but it is important to recognize that actions have consequences. We will not be bullied.
It seems as though these occurrences are continuing to happen, even after the election. But there is a difference to how they tend to end, now that the progressive democrats have been put on notice that they’re unmitigated attacks against Trump supporters, MAGA, and Republicans in general isn’t going to go unanswered, particularly when a corporation is involved. As a general rule, these incidents have largely gone on without any recompense by the company involved. Now, the shift in the social dynamic as a result of President Trump’s re-election seems to be evident. Companies no longer feel free to allow activist-employees to carry out their targeted political attacks without worry of being called out. The #TrumpEffect definitely seems to be REAL and EFFECTIVE, even in the wider societal shift showing up in the aftermath of these instances, and in the way companies are treating them when they do happen. While it remains to be seen exactly what concrete action, if any, the Davanni’s Coorporate leadership will take to ensure political targeting like this doesn’t happen in the future (as opposed to simply pretending it was an innocent mistake)… The simple fact that it is being addressed at all is a welcome shift from what we’ve seen over the last four years. Read more at: WLTReport.com
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