Owner of restaurant targeted over mask requirement: ‘We’re not going to accept or allow ignorance, hate or racism’

The owner of a ramen restaurant in Texas that was vandalized over its mask requirement says that the support he’s received from the community shows that racism isn’t accepted.

Speaking to CNN early Tuesday, Mike Nguyen said that the community rallied around him when his restaurant, Noodle Tree, was spray painted with racist graffiti after he shared his opinions of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) lifting the state’s coronavirus restrictions.

“Sunday, our windows were filled with hate and ignorance, but by Monday it was filled with love and support because people started drawing these paper hearts, writing positive messages and sticking it on our window,” Nguyen said.

“And for me, that’s a powerful thing. It shows that we’re not going to accept or allow ignorance, hate or racism in our town, in our city, in our state,” he said.

“We’re not going to accept or allow ignorance, hate or racism.” Mike Nguyen says the community rallied around his Texas restaurant when it was vandalized after he required his customers to wear a mask.https://t.co/3fi2OsBpKz pic.twitter.com/8bWVMgCJ3N

— New Day (@NewDay) March 16, 2021

Nguyen said that he found graffiti on Sunday days after he told CNN during a separate appearance that Abbott’s decision to remove the state’s coronavirus restrictions was “selfish” and “cowardly.”

The restaurant said on Facebook that it delayed its opening by an hour to address “an incident.”

Nguyen told CNN on Tuesday that the threats have been “ramping up” since the incident, and that his safety “may be at risk,” but that he’ll still speak out about Abbott’s decisions.

“The more I speak about it, the more it seems like the threats are ramping up, but that’s not going to stop me,” he said. “We’re not going to let the hate and ignorance prevail, we’re going to bring awareness to this and stop this.”

Abbott lifted the state’s mask mandate earlier this month and dropped capacity limits on businesses. His order still allows restaurants to maintain mask requirements.