Grand Haven's Pronto Pup has reactivated its Facebook page late Monday night after issuing an apology for a deleted post and deactivating earlier in the day.
According to screenshots being shared around social media, the original post rambled about wearing masks, questioned the seriousness of coronavirus, criticized Black Lives Matter, discussed the Michigan militias, brought up immigration, complained of police funding and shared an anecdote about Jeffrey Willis.
It was deleted, and an apology was posted a short time later.
"There was a post meant for the owner's personal account that was accidentally posted to this page tonight. We have removed it, as it was not intended to be a Pronto Pup post. This post was in no way representative of Pronto Pup as a business or our staff members. We are not sure how to make this right at the moment but we will try to figure it out. We are truly sorry for any hurt of offense this has caused," the apology read.
Not long after that was published, around 9:20 p.m., the Pronto Pup Facebook page was deactivated.
Then, around 11:30 p.m. on Monday, the Pronto Pup Facebook page was reactivated and owner Carl Nelson, issued a personal apology, stating he needed to "kill the page" to gather his thoughts.
"The post on our Pronto Pup page was not intended for this page," Nelson said. "Never would I have thought my post would have upset so many people. I have removed the post."
Nelson went on the say that he "snapped" and that in he was called a racist following the post.
"At this time, I have staff that are fearful to come to work due to messages to our phone and their Facebook accounts," Nelson explained. "Our staff is stellar and second to none. Please do not take out your anger with them."
The backlash following the original post to the Pronto Pup Facebook page prompted a Grand Rapids Pronto Pup to remind followers of their affiliation, or lack thereof, with the Grand Rapids location.
"We want to make sure everyone knows we are in no way affiliated with any other Pronto Pup restaurant or food truck," a post to Facebook read. "We are our own separate entity that uses the exact same batter as every other Pronto Pup restaurant or food truck."
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