Dallas restaurant gets shooting threats after NRA told followers to steer clear

A popular Dallas restaurant has received shooting threats following a tweet from the National Rifle Association telling followers to steer clear of the place.

On Friday Ellen’s in downtown Dallas, Texas, began printing a message on its receipts saying that it would donate a portion of its proceeds to ‘organizations dedicated to implementing reasonable and effective gun regulations.’

The restaurant is located just a mile from where the NRA held its annual meeting over the weekend. 

The organization responded to the message by tweeting a photo of the receipt with the caption: ‘Attn @AnnualMeetings attendees. Steer clear of Ellen’s in downtown Dallas! Why go there when there are so many other great choices. #sorrynotsorry  #StandAndFight  #DefendTheSecond.’

The National Rifle Association posted a tweet telling followers to ‘steer clear’ of the eatery

Ellen’s is located just a mile from where the NRA held its annual meeting over the weekend

 ‘We’ve had people calling and say they’re going to shoot the place up, one that implied he would be burning us down today. Ridiculous people,’ restaurant owner Joe Groves told BuzzFeed.

He clarified that the funds would go to organizations that ‘protect citizens’ Second Amendment rights and also help reduce needless gun violence.’

‘Nothing we’ve said indicated we wanted to limit Second Amendment rights, but that’s the way it’s being portrayed. They’re so touchy about that, any conversation is trying to take away their guns. It’s the opposite of that,’ Groves said. 

‘[NRA members] are so touchy about that, any conversation is trying to take away their guns. It’s the opposite of that.’ 

Dozens of one-star reviews have been left on the Ellen’s Yelp page following the NRA tweet

One Yelp user commented: ‘These people will pay to take your guns away’ in a one-star review 

In response to the negative reaction Ellen’s owner Joe Groves said: ‘[NRA members] are so touchy about that, any conversation is trying to take away their guns. It’s the opposite of that’

While the restaurant hasn’t yet seen a negative impact on sales, it has received thousands of angry messages on social media. 

In the hours after the NRA’s tweet was posted, dozens of one-star reviews were left on the restaurant’s Yelp page. 

On Friday evening Ellen’s responded to the viral reaction to its receipts saying: ‘What a day this has been! We want to give some clarification to an issue that has caused quite a bit of confusion and anxiety.

‘Early this morning, we began posting a message on the bottom of our receipts stating that Ellen’s intends to donate a portion of our proceeds this week toward the efforts of finding common ground and compromise in the fight to eliminate needless gun violence, especially in our schools and against our dedicated police officers.

‘With a limited number of characters available for that message, we simplified it to say we support “reasonable and effective gun regulations” toward that end.’

An estimated 70,000 people attended the NRA’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas, this weekend

Demonstrators hold a large banner that reads ‘Come And Take It’ during a pro-gun rally on the outside of the annual meeting on Saturday

Groves said the reactions on social media were difficult to watch.      

‘My view is to protect the Second Amendment but keep people from murdering children in schools,’ Groves said.

‘Let’s find a way to accomplish both. Let’s have reasonable dialogue. Of course, that is taken as blasphemy. There’s no such thing as dialogue. It is an interesting lesson and to some extent demoralizing.’ 

He is still deciding which organization to donate the proceeds to.