A Black-owned restaurant in Atlanta is being called out online, not for its food or service, but for its politics.
Toast on Lenox, a popular brunch establishment with locations in the city’s Midtown and Buckhead neighborhoods, is a buzzy spot where celebrities like Issa Rae, Tina Knowles, and Monaleo make appearances from time to time. Its owners, Tamara Young and Virgil Harper, who is also the executive chef, recently celebrated the Midtown location’s third anniversary in April and the Buckhead location’s fifth anniversary in February.
Harper and Young also own Toast Noir Cafe in Buckhead, and Harper owns another restaurant in Houston called Atlantic Ocean.
But the conversation turned away from the Toast’s lobster and sweet potato waffles after a picture circulated online featuring Young and conservative Georgia gubernatorial hopeful Rick Jackson.
“As Governor, I’ll fight for all Georgians, including Tamara, whose story as a successful owner of @toastonlenox is not only inspiring to me, but to anyone looking to create opportunity in our state,” Jackson wrote in his Instagram post where he shared the photo of himself and Young. “Grateful for the time, conversation, and amazing food!”
The billionaire businessman and founder of Jackson Healthcare just won the Republican nomination on Tuesday, beating out Donald Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. He will now take on the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, in the general election this November.
Though he did not receive the president’s endorsement, Jackson has compared himself to Trump, according to the Georgia Recorder, saying he “will stand up to the radical left, the media, the bureaucracy and anyone else that tries to take advantage of Georgians.”
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The photo of Young and Jackson has sparked outrage and debate among the restaurant’s local clientele, with some arguing that the photo was not an endorsement of Jackson, and others saying they will boycott Toast. And there seems to be an uncertainty around whether the Toast owners were trying to send a message by hosting the politician at their restaurant.
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Without releasing an official statement, Toast’s owners have not entirely backed away from the conversation. Harper posted a photo on his Instagram page today, which was a simple message in white lettering against a black background: “A Discussion is not a Vote!!!!!!” The caption was five fist emojis and the hashtag #Staywoke.
