The owner of an Italian restaurant refused to serve National Guard members because he said they were making his city less safe.
Miles Tamboli says he has gotten harassment and threats after telling four uniformed members of the Memphis Safe Task Force to leave his restaurant, Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza.
‘None of that makes us safer. It makes us less safe, and it does the most damage to the people who were already struggling.’
The backlash against Tamboli’s got a significant boost when the popular Libs of TikTok account posted about the owner’s political statement and called on followers to make their voices heard.
“Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza REFUSED to serve four members of the Tennessee National Guard. This is the owner, Miles Tamboli. Would be a shame if everyone in the area knew they kicked out US servicemembers!” Libs of TikTok wrote Wednesday.
That post garnered more than 2.9 million views on its own.
WMC-TV reported that state and federal law allows a business to refuse service to people based on their occupations.
“On Saturday night we declined to serve four uniformed members of the Memphis Safe Task Force, and I stand behind that decision completely,” Tamboli wrote in a statement to WMC. “I love this country and I love this city, and that is exactly why I made this call. I want Memphis to be safe.”
He went on to claim that crime had fallen in the city before the task force had arrived.
“Families in this city are now afraid to drive to work, afraid to take their kids to school, afraid to be seen,” he continued. “Our own schools reported that fear drove children to stop showing up to class. And this month a 20-year-old Memphian named Tyrin Johnson was shot and killed by National Guard troops during a foot chase, with no body camera footage and no answers for his family. None of that makes us safer. It makes us less safe, and it does the most damage to the people who were already struggling.”
RELATED: San Francisco restaurant refuses to serve uniformed police officers out of commitment to ‘social and racial justice’
He also claimed that “dozens” of other businesses pledged to oppose the National Guard operation.
One of those businesses, named Da Sammich Spot on Park Avenue, made national headlines when it refused to serve the troops in January.
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