Pure Hate

The owners of the Cup It Up restaurant in Tucson, Ariz., say they’re hoping to open “sometime soon” after closing their doors this month following "nasty" backlash over a pro-POTUS Facebook post.

Shortly after Chris Smith and Jay Warren shared their pro-Trump opinions, Cup It Up’s owners claim they received so much backlash that employees chose to quit, leading Smith and Warren to “close [Cup It Up’s] doors indefinitely” on Oct. 9.

“We expected some shares, some discussion, but as it kept coming in, after about three hours of the pure nastiness, we decided to pull it,” co-owner Chris Smith said Thursday on “Fox & Friends.”

This was the viral FB post that Cup It Up American Grill posted & deleted after backlash. Restaurant is closed indefinitely. (prior tweet) pic.twitter.com/o4847nNNjF
— Jennifer Martinez (@Jennymartineztv) October 10, 2017

Now, however, Smith and Warren confirmed that they plan to reopen Cup It Up in the near future, and they’re clearing up why they chose to post their Facebook message in the first place.

“The National Anthem [issue] really struck home with me, as a Navy veteran,” explained Smith. “My take on the national anthem is a patriotic one. I served in the Persian Gulf,” said Smith, who explained that the anthem “took on a whole new meaning” after hearing it sung during a Super Bowl while he was stationed overseas.

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