Lloyd Taco Faces Backlash From All Sides After Serving ICE Workers | Eater
"A Buffalo-based taco company that runs four food trucks and two brick-and-mortar restaurants was plunged into controversy after announcing on October 23 that a truck would park outside the Department of Homeland Security facility in Batavia (the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility run by ICE). Critics noted the irony of serving tacos outside a site that detains immigrants, leading the company to apologize, pledge to donate all sales from October 23 to a migrant-rights organization, and promise internal policy changes. That apology then sparked a counter-backlash—some elected officials and ICE characterized it as an attack on law enforcement—prompting co-founder Pete Cimino to issue a second apology at an October 28 news conference, calling the first response hasty and stressing the business’s desire to serve all communities and remain nonpolitical. The episode has produced thousands of mostly negative social-media comments (the company reported more than 5,000 Facebook comments, about 95% negative), several canceled truck visits and lost business, and ongoing debate over whether attempting neutrality amid a polarized issue was the right choice." - Jenny G. Zhang
