Raleigh food hall cancels lease with doughnut vendor over racist online comments
A vendor has been kicked out of Raleigh’s Morgan Street Food Hall over comments made by the vendor’s owner online.
The food hall terminated the lease of the Raleigh Mini Donut Company after its owner, Josh Johnson, used racist language on Facebook.
Morgan Street Food Hall owner Niall Hanley said in a phone interview that he became aware of the comments Tuesday morning and began an investigation. The donut shop’s lease was canceled that afternoon.
“We heard about it and looked into it and by lunchtime Tuesday we terminated his license,” Hanley said.
On Wednesday, Morgan Street posted a statement on its Facebook page that it had terminated the lease of a vendor, but it did not name that vendor. In a phone interview, Hanley confirmed it was Raleigh Mini Donut Company.
“We take discrimination and verbal abuse very seriously at the Morgan Street Food Hall,” the Facebook post said. “We have a Zero Tolerance Policy for such behavior. The Morgan Street Food Hall was built on the idea of bringing different cultures, creeds, races coming together to tell their story, through food.”
The Raleigh Mini Donut Company joined the food hall last August, operating as a kiosk inside Morgan Street, but not as a full scale kitchen.
Screenshots of comments made by Johnson’s personal account have been shared widely on social media. They include phrases like “Typical blacks,” referring to someone as a “slave,” “blm don’t matter” in reference to Black Lives Matter and “Dirty low life (N-words).”
Calls and an email to Johnson seeking a response to the comments have not been returned. The Facebook page and Instagram account of the Raleigh Mini Donut Company have been disabled.
A screenshot of the Raleigh Mini Donut Company Facebook page shows an apology posted Friday, May 29 where the owners say their account was hacked.
“We have been alerted that our Facebook account was compromised by someone,” the post reads. “They were able to get a few disgusting messages sent to random people that we are not associated with. If you were one of the people that received the message we are truly sorry.”
Another screenshot from over the weekend shows a post from the Raleigh Mini Donut Company Facebook page referencing the protests and riots in Raleigh.
“What occurred last night in Raleigh was not a protest,” the post reads. “It was pure evil and destruction of a beautiful city! If you were apart (sic) of the destruction or if you support the destruction do us a favor and stop following us. ... We do not want your business. If I recognize you in our business you will be asked to leave.”
In an interview with WRAL, Johnson says the account was hacked.
“I have seen the posts. I did not post those posts,” Johnson told WRAL. “My account was compromised last Thursday.”
The comments come during a week of protests following the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died after a Minneapolis police officer held him down with a knee on his neck.
Protests in Raleigh over the weekend broke down into vandalism as police officers used tear gas and fired rubber bullets. Peaceful protests were held Monday and Tuesday night without incident, as Raleigh imposed a curfew.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Raleigh food hall cancels lease with doughnut vendor over racist online comments."
