DENVER — The owners of a Denver restaurant have gotten death threats and angry phone calls and emails after they say they turned down a campaign visit by Mitt Romney.
Oscar Aguirre, who owns Rosa Linda’s Mexican Cafe with his parents, said the angry messages started within minutes of Westword (bit.ly/VqvAVp) posting a story about their decision Tuesday, the same day that the Republican presidential candidate stopped by a Chipotle Mexican Grill for lunch. Aguirre said some callers mistakenly thought they had refused to serve Romney.
He said Romney, and anyone else, is welcome to dine at the restaurant, a landmark in the now-trendy Highlands neighborhood known for its free Thanksgiving dinner for the needy, but he didn’t want it used as a campaign stop.
“We didn’t want to be in this controversy. Mitt Romney can come in tomorrow and have lunch with us,” he said Friday, noting that Romney staffers have eaten there several times.
The restaurant also got attention for turning down a visit from George Bush when he was running for the presidency in 1999. Aguirre said he was a registered Republican then. He’s since switched to a Democrat but said he doesn’t always vote with the party and wore a purple shirt for the debate.
A Romney campaign spokesman told The Denver Post (bit.ly/R3kjGq) it only asked the restaurant to join the campaign and host occasional events and regrets the anger being directed the owners
Aguirre first announced his decision in August on Facebook, saying that Romney supporters asked them to host a campaign stop partly because the restaurant owner’s parents are Mormon, as is the candidate. He did wade into politics, noting that his mother thought they were better off under Bill Clinton, but thanked the Romney campaign for thinking of them.
Aguirre posted an apology and explanation on Facebook this week and, since then, he said calls of support have been outpacing the angry ones. He said customers he hasn’t seen in years have returned and a woman from Ireland offered to donate $25 to the Thanksgiving dinner.
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