GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — In Grand Haven Tuesday, outside Pronto Pup was its typical line of customers waiting to order their popular corn dogs.
This comes one day after a controversial Facebook post on the business' page. The post is now deleted, but according to screenshots being shared around social media, the original post rambled about wearing masks, questioned the seriousness of coronavirus, criticized Black Lives Matter, discussed the Michigan militias, brought up immigration, complained of police funding and shared an anecdote about Jeffrey Willis.
"I think it’s going to draw unnecessary attention to Grand Haven and damage part of his business," said Adam Sobczak, a local business owner who was out to lunch at a nearby restaurant. "But I think people make mistakes and hopefully he can come out publicly and say, 'hey, this is wrong,' and 'the opinion probably wasn’t my best judgment.'"
Pronto Pup did issue an apology late Monday, saying the post was meant for the owner's personal page. The Facebook page was deactivated shortly after that. Around 11:30 p.m. Monday another apology was posted from the owner Carl Nelson, saying "My sincere apologies to anyone that may have seen the post."
Both apologies do not comment on the content of the post.
Many people shared screenshots of the original Pronto Pup post on Facebook, criticizing what was said.
"I’m not going to judge what’s in his heart," said Len Bokuniewicz, a Grand Haven resident. "Doesn’t sound good though."
13 ON YOUR SIDE spoke to Nelson at the business Tuesday. He declined further comment.
However, Sobczak said whether the post was intended for Nelson's personal page or not, he should have thought twice before posting. Sobczak believes business owners should keep their personal opinions off social media.
"He'll influence a community because he’s an icon in the community, the restaurant is," said Sobczak. "You shouldn’t use that to influence a community."
Tuesday, some customers told 13 ON YOUR SIDE they were there specifically to show their support for Nelson and Pronto Pup.
"Him and I disagree on a lot of things politically," said Stormy Edmund Weathers, a customer who said he knew Nelson personally, "but this man would give the shirt off his back if he could. His personal views are his personal views. His business ethics have nothing to do with his personal views."
Weathers bought about 20 pronto pups from the stand. He said while he doesn't agree with the majority of the original post, he wanted to support his friend and the Grand Haven business.
"Did he snap? Did he do something wrong? Yes. That wasn’t the place for it," said Weathers. "Being in business you have to be mindful of what you say in the public eyes. There’s too much judgmental people out there and common sense is pretty much nonexistent in this country today."
In the original post, Nelson wrote about discomfort while working in the hot, small space with a mask on. He explained why a mask was irrelevant to his particular case, and suggested the Health Department shut him down.
"I understand one size doesn’t fit all in terms of the mandates," said Bokuniewicz about the mask comment. "There must be some sort of helmet or device or air cooled thing his employees could wear to be cool in there and not breathing on the Pronto Pup they serve to the public."
To read more on the initial Facebook post, click here.
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