A RESTAURANT owner has been slammed for his “distasteful” 9/11-themed bar.
Brent Thompson runs Bar 9Eleven in Texas – named after the 2001 terror attacks – but insists he’s fine to “lose a few customers” over it.
He sparked outrage on Twitter after a traveler snapped a photo of the Fort Worth pub’s exterior and shared it with his followers.
Missouri resident Jesse Tyler posted the image, along with several others, saying: “Drove by this bar and thought ‘Huh I wonder what that’s about’.
“Turns out it’s about exactly what you think.”
Thompson told the New York Post he “gets” that “it’s a sensitive subject” – but that he never intended to offend anyone.
“I may lose a few customers on this,” he added. “If you don’t have all the facts, you’re probably going to have a negative reaction.”
He explained that the name is not a ploy for publicity but actually a very fitting title.
He told The Post he had been preparing for the soft opening of his first restaurant on the tragic day in 2001, which took the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent people.
His first-day nerves quickly turned to fear as he waited to hear from his daughter, who had been on a flight toward San Antonio that morning, and his brother-in-law, an American Airlines pilot.
The bar was previously named ‘Charlie’s Bar’ after a former employee, but Thompson decided to rename it after learning that a “high percentage” of Americans didn’t know that the anniversary of the event was approaching.
So in 2014 he swapped out the lounge’s name and it became Bar 9Eleven.
As well as the name, the bar also features a timeline of the tragic day’s events.
“I don’t want anyone who comes into my restaurant to forget that day,” he said.
Twitter erupted with criticism for Thompson and his themed bar.
Tyler, who posted the original pictures, later added: “Blown away by this work of creative nonfiction depicting the owner of a Tex Mex restaurant in north Texas as the main character of our nation’s darkest day.”
One user replied: “Holy s*** that’s… well, not bad, but tone deaf?”
Another said: “This is one of most bizarre things I’ve seen in a while.”
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Despite widespread condemnation for the themed venue, Thompson insists business is booming thanks to his loyal customers.
He said: “80% of our business comes from 20% of our customers.”
And he said that for those who have heard his rationale for the name and still find it “distasteful” – “I respect that”.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
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