Italian restaurant sees surge in business after posting controversial 'Black Olives Matter' sign

The owner of an Italian restaurant in New Mexico says he’s seen a surge in business after posting a billboard that featured a food-centric pun playing off the Black Lives Matter slogan.

Rick Camuglia, owner of Paisano’s in Albuquerque, posted what he thought would be a well-received joke on the marquee sign in front of his restaurant last week. It read:

"BLACK OLIVES MATTER — TRY OUR TAPENADE."

Eager to promote the seasonal fish dish, Camuglia also posted a picture of the sign to his restaurant’s Facebook page.

But the restaurant owner never expected the post to go viral.  “It wasn’t a mistake to put up the billboard,” says Camuglia, “but it was a mistake to post it on Facebook.”

Within hours of Paisano’s post, Camuglia says the page was flooded with negative comments and the restaurant was inundated with phone calls.

“People were calling us racist. Saying we were a white supremacist restaurant. Some got really derogatory and just started cursing me out.”

Despite the virtual vitriol, Camuglia says there’s been a major upside to the post—big business.

“Our phone has also been ringing off the hook with people making reservations. People are placing carry-out orders in the high hundreds,” says the restaurant owner. “And they’re asking for black olives on everything. Black olives on the salad, ‘I’ll have extra black olives on my sausage sandwich’—we’ve had to order more from our supplier.”

SOURCE 

In my observation, Italians -- and I grew up among them -- are usually hearty people with a good sense of humor, but political correctness seems to be difficult for them worldwide.  It's just not in them.