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Food

Pro-Trump, Anti-Global Warming Facebook Post Leads to Restaurant's Closure

Cup It Up American Grill in Tucson, Arizona was forced to close just 72 hours after its controversial post went sideways.

The origin of that often quoted, often misquoted phrase about pleasing "some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time" has been debated and disputed, but there's one thing we can all agree on: whoever said it clearly lived before the arrival of social media. Facebook posts—especially politically charged Facebook posts—are a fantastic way to illustrate that you surely won't please all of those people, and will likely piss a lot of them off. Just ask the owners of Arizona's Cup It Up American Grill, who were forced to close their restaurant just 72 hours after a controversial post went sideways.

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On Friday, the restaurant's owners Christopher Smith and Jay Warren wrote a lengthy Facebook post outlining what the two of them do and do not advocate. "We believe in and support 100% in the following," it began, before listing things like "OUR President," "Always Standing for the National Anthem," and "Drug screening for welfare recipients." It also listed things that "we DON'T believe in or support," which included those who don't love All Things Trump, "Late Night Hosts Getting Political," and global warming. It also announced that it would no longer broadcast NFL games "until they get their act together" and stop protesting police brutality during the National Anthem.

Within three hours, the restaurant had received so many negative comments, complaints and threats of boycotting that the pair deleted the post. By Saturday, Cup It Up deleted all of its social media accounts and, according to Tucson.com, the restaurant was receiving so many angry phone calls, "several" employees decided they'd rather quit than deal with them. Julian Alarcon, the chef and a partner in the restaurant, also quit—and was reportedly meeting with an attorney to separate himself from the backlash.

"It's hate feedback and it's for one reason only and it's that we showed our support for Donald Trump," Smith told the outlet on Saturday morning. "There was nothing that we put in the post that was absolutely wrong and terrible in that we supported our president and our troops."

READ MORE: Trump Supporters Enraged by 18th-Century Custard Recipe

An apology for mixing politics and business soon followed, but that helped zero percent. The restaurant's Google and Yelp reviews have unsurprisingly tanked ("I will never be back here again since they support fascism and a toddler in office," one woman wrote. "They also hate America and our freedom of speech. Stick to making your food great again.") On Monday, the restaurant announced that the restaurant—or what's left of it, anyway—would be closing for good.

"We have made a decision to close our doors indefinitely as of today," a sign posted on the restaurant's door read. "The safety of our employees, and our families is of great concern and is our #1 priority at this time. We would also like to extend a special thanks to our Military and First responders. Thank you all and God Bless."