In a move to defend its reputation, East Frank Superette and Kitchen’s owners have filed a lawsuit in response to months of threats received over the drag shows the restaurant has hosted.
“We started doing drag shows that just give people around here something to do. That’s different. That doesn’t happen in Union County,” East Frank co-owner Robert Huffman said in an interview with WBTV. “We were allowing parents to bring their children because we didn’t really see it as lewd or anything wrong with it.”
In December, a group of Union County residents sued the restaurant after the eatery’s social media page featured photoshopped pictures of protestors outside of one of the restaurant’s “all-ages drag shows.” The original images — which included two white, blonde women holding signs implying drag shows are predatory — were altered comically by the East Frank social media page to block out the hateful messaging and replaced it with text supporting their $5 Big Burritos. This original suit from a handful of residents alleged East Frank’s posts with the photoshopped images were unauthorized and misleading, citing the Lanham Act, a federal trademark law barring false or misleading statements in advertising.
“Their images are being used without consent, to advertise a business that’s conducting the things that they’re actually objecting to,” said Peter Barwick, who is from Coalition for Liberty, an organization helping the seven residents sue East Frank.
The countersuit from East Frank was filed last week, claiming the original suit is defamatory and has caused harm to the eatery’s reputation.
“Sue them right back,” Carley Englander, co-owner of East Frank, said. “They’ve not only impacted our business but put us in a dangerous situation. We are counter suing for not just defamation but what defamation brings.”
The owners told multiple news outlets they and their staff have received numerous death threats, and called ‘pedophiles’ and ‘groomers.’ Englander said it’s been overwhelming for the staff, and at times, scary.
“We’ve gotten death threats, we’ve gotten violent threats, via email, Facebook comments, we had another local business in town provoke people to go on a hunt, you could say, of people that were in LGBTQ or communities that supported drag,” Englander told WBTV. “As family people that we are, we have kids, we don’t want to subject them to this.”
Huffman added customers had been filmed without permission by these protestors, performers had been ridiculed, threatened and more.
The East Frank Facebook page has a post dated April 13, where it discusses the lawsuit. It reads as follows:
“We refuse to let bigotry dictate our actions, thus we are not only defending ourselves against these ludicrous claims but also counter-suing, highlighting the inherent discrimination and harm caused by their homophobic rhetoric [and] beliefs. This legal battle goes beyond mere litigation; it’s a stand against hate, advocating for inclusivity and equality for all. We remain steadfast in our commitment to creating a workplace and society where diversity is celebrated and everyone is treated with dignity and respect.”
The comments under the post are overwhelmingly supportive, filled with residents across Union County voicing their support for the restaurant. One comment even stated they were going to start going to the restaurant just to support the efforts to fight the original lawsuit.
“I just saw your report on the news about this,” one comment read. “My husband and I and all of our friends will now be new customers because of it!!!! Can’t wait to come see y’all!!!”
Englander told Qnotes in a phone call on April 17 she and Huffman are thankful for the support the community has given them, not just in the last few months, but since its very first drag show.
“Without the support of our community, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Englander said. “We’re so grateful for all of those who do support us and our mission to spread kindness and inclusivity.”
The owners of East Frank have set up a GoFundMe page to cover expenses related to legal fees, can be found here or by going to the eatery’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/eastfranksuperette.
My husband and I go here frequently, its an awesome community based place. If you don’t want your kids to see drag queens don’t come, no ones forcing you and drag queens are not trying to recruit your children!