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The owner of Erie Orchards and Cider Mill has drawn widespread outrage online after a video showed him making offensive and racist comments to an Arab-American customer.
The video uploaded on Facebook by the customer caught the owner of the Erie Orchards and Cider Mill, Steve Elzinga, outright admitting that he’s a racist after accusing the Muslim family of stealing.
Detailing the incident on Facebook, the customer, Palestinian immigrant Joe Mahmoud, said that he went to the orchard with his wife and three kids on Sunday, August 13.
In the store, the family reportedly purchased $70 worth of goods before they were told by employees that they could drive through the orchard so that his young daughters could explore without charge.
“Since my daughters (aged 8, 4 and 6 months) were keen on experiencing the orchard, the employee said we were allowed to explore without charge if we found anything in the orchard worth taking.
"(If you peek on their social media, they also say they are out of u-pick peaches). We found a bag full of mostly rotted peaches and apples.”
The family, who found a bag full of rotten fruits, were allegedly stopped by the owner of the cider mill, Elzinga, who accused them of stealing and prevented them from leaving the premises.
Netizens react as Erie Orchards racist video triggers backlash in community
The incident caught on video on Sunday, Aug. 13, showed Erie Orchards and Cider Mill owner spew racist comments to Palestinian immigrant Joe Mahmoud, who was accused of stealing.
The disturbing clip captured the owner as saying:
"Every Muslim that comes in here steals from me."
In response, the father accuses Elzinga of being a racist, to which the owner said:
"Of course, I am."
Joe Mahmoud said that his family was then subjected to a search where the owner began to forcefully rifle through the contents of their car.
"Just opened the door and started going through my truck. Then, he goes to the back where my daughter is. I'm like what is he doing now? My daughter is back there sleeping. and he is going through her diaper bag."
Mahmoud said that the owner then demanded they pay $58 for the rotten peaches they picked out from the orchard and wouldn't let them leave even after the family handed over the bag, refusing to pay.
Shortly after, the owner reportedly went on a racist tirade where he said that he didn't want Muslims who ‘"always steal" to visit his store.
The shocking incident has sparked outrage among many who said that they would cease supporting Orchards' business in the future. One said:
"I’ll never go there again. Might as well put a big racist sign out front."
Another commented:
“This is awful! Happy I stopped going there a long time ago.”
One user, acquainted with the family, sympathized with their plight and wrote:
“I am sorry to see this Yousef and some of the nicest people I have ever met are Muslim or from Muslim countries. This guy this guy…..argh!”
Echoing the aforementioned statements, many rallied behind the family and posted the following comments:
Erie Orchards owner doubles down on racisTiradede
In response to the video circulating online, in a statement to 7 Action News, Erie Orchard's owner doubled down on his racist tirade. He said that he did not regret his discriminatory comments against the Palestinian family.
"No. You know what, why do we have to put up with that almost on a daily and weekly basis?" Elzinga said.
"Every time a Muslim would drive in, my staff would call me and say, 'We have Muslims out there. We have to be extremely careful.”
Despite the prior statement, Orchard's owner maintained that he did not despise all Muslim customers before noting that he would refrain from generalizing in the future.
"Obviously, I don't feel this way about everybody, OK, about Muslims. We've had a lot of Muslims who've come here and are good people — they pick, they pay."
In the wake of the social media storm against his Erie Orchards store, Elzinga said that his place was open to every one of his patrons.
