A local business owner is clearing the air on a situation that has led to backlash from a certain portion of the public.
Late last week, the Canada Unity Convoy made a pit stop at the parking lot at the Antrim Truck Stop while on their way to deliver a message regarding opposition to Vaccination Passports – however the restaurant and its staff were never in a partnership of any sort with the group.
“We were notified in advance of the convoy attending the TS (Truck Stop). We subsequently reached out to police, and the convoy’s organizer” owner Tom Orr said in a statement. “We met and reviewed mutual expectations. Ultimately, there were roughly 25 trucks and various campers (combined) represented by approximately 50 people. They assured us that they would be following all Provincial guidelines to attend our facilities. In other words, those who are double vaccinated would be able to dine in, and anyone who was not, would be limited to facilities that are deemed essential. The convoy members ultimately broke several of the expectations that we had discussed (bbq, tents, and organizing an event at the property). They were immediately asked to vacate.”
Orr went on to tell us that the restaurant invites all guests and never will discriminate against religion, political views, race, age, or beliefs.
“If you respect the rules, we have in place set by our local health unit and province we invite you to visit us and encourage you to return. We received a lot of negative comments regarding the convoy who stayed here. We did not participate or encourage the convoy. We simply treated them as we treat all customers, with respect, proof of vaccination was required for dining-in and mandatory masks for anyone entering our establishment. Again, as soon as we learned of rules being breached, they were asked to leave immediately.”
When it comes to negative feedback on social media, Orr says some people don’t take time to understand stories with context and instead quickly act to headlines.
“We can agree that ‘keyboard warriors’ can indeed cause harm to a business, as we have just experienced. In this case, it was the poor choice of words used in the headline and the reporting that lit the spark.”
The Antrim Truck stop is located at 580 White Lake Rd, Arnprior.