An Indian restaurant was one of many businesses to catch fire during the ongoing George Floyd protests in Minneapolis, and now the owner’s alleged response to the incident has struck a chord on social media.
In an emotional Facebook post, the family that operates the Gandhi Mahal restaurant — which has been featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” with Guy Fieri, and has earned praise from several other outlets — wrote of the damage it sustained the previous day.
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“Thank you to everyone for checking in. Sadly Gandhi Mahal has caught fire and has been damaged,” the post begins. “We won’t [lose] hope though, I am so [grateful] for our neighbors who did their best to stand guard and protect Gandhi Mahal…”
However, according to the daughter of owner Ruhel Islam, the restaurant is instead focused on the immediacy of current events instead of the damages it suffered.
“Don’t worry about us, we will rebuild and we will recover,” the post read.
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“This is Hafsa, Ruhel’s daughter writing, as I am sitting next to my dad watching the news, I hear him say on the phone; 'let my building burn, Justice needs to be served, put those officers in jail.' Gandhi Mahal may have felt the flames last night, but our firey drive to help protect and stand with our community will never die! Peace be with everyone,” it concluded.
Those on Facebook and Twitter, where the post was also shared, celebrated the restaurant’s stance.
“Not only am I proud to call myself a Minnesotan because of businesses and people like you, I’m even prouder to call myself a Bangladeshi. Thank you for all you do for the community. The food. The environment. Thank you being the place where my husband and I held our halud. We are here and will help you rebuild,” one person wrote.
“Thank you for recognizing that justice needs to prevail. No doubt you will be able to rebuild with help from the community,” another praised.
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“Well said! As a frequent customer, I can’t wait until your business is up and running again,” part of another comment read.
“Thanks for feeding the medics on Wednesday night. I'm sorry about your building and so, so happy that the family is safe,” another fan wrote.
Though there was some backlash, the vast majority of the responses were positive.
The political leanings expressed in the post do not appear to be new for Ruhel, or the restaurant. According to the bio for the Gandhi Mahal, Ruhel moved to the U.S. after becoming “disturbed with the corrupt political system of Bangladesh, where he observed the ‘bad guys’ got away with everything.”
He moved to the United States in 1996 with “a seed of a profound faith that no matter what, no matter how twisted things may appear, but at the end of the day everyone would be blessed with justice in The United States.”
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The death of Floyd, a black man whose arrest was captured on video by several bystanders, occurred after a police officer, who is white, had pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for eight minutes until Floyd was rendered motionless.It also sparked protests around the nation Wednesday night.
Footage of the protests have also been circulating on social media.
Fox News contacted Gandhi Mahal Restaurant for additional comment.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.