A New York State diner owner found himself with throngs of
new customers after a popular food delivery service allegedly blackballed his
eatery, and some of his regulars boycotted him and staffers reportedly quit
over his support of Israel.
Peter Tsadilas, owner of the Golden Globe Diner in
Huntington, Long Island told FOX News he has been shocked by the community's
response. He had lined his windows with posters of Israelis taken hostage by
Hamas last month, as well as signs
stating that Greek diners stand with Israel. Tsadilas alleged that
DoorDash drivers partnered with each other to "stand against us" for
displaying Israeli flags and hostage posters.
"What they said was that we were promoting hate and
that we're going to refuse, and we're going to band together to stop delivering
our orders."
Tsadilas also claimed he asked some staffers and customers
to search the diner on the delivery company's website, saying his
establishment's listing disappeared, after he noticed a dip in online orders. When
asked about the claims by the New York Post – which first reported on the
alleged boycott – DoorDash denied Tsadilas' claims.
"Based on our
investigation so far, we have not found any evidence to confirm any of the
claims made by the diner owner," a DoorDash representative said.
Ever since the diner attracted press attention, it has seen
its customer base balloon, with patrons coming from as far as Florida to show
support for Tsadilas. "The support is tremendous. It's humbling," he
said, as recent footage from the diner aired on FOX News showed its lobby
jammed with people waiting to be seated. As for the original outrage, Tsadilas
said he was shocked by the anti-Israeli sentiments in a region like Long
Island, which has a large Jewish population.
"I couldn't believe it, it's pretty sad," he said.
As for the politics of the situation in the Holy Land,
Tsadilas told the Post he doesn't want to see casualties on either side of the
invasion. "I don’t want
Palestinians to die. I don’t want anyone to die. But what happened to Israel
was an attack... Wars should be left to countries and armies, not innocent
people."
