Protesters call for boycott over insensitive ad about Mexican immigration

Outraged elected officials and community leaders called for a boycott of a Patchogue restaurant after the owner posted insensitive remarks about Mexican immigration on social media this week that have since been taken down.

The backlash caused Off Key Tikki to remove the post and apologize on Facebook for the Cinco de Mayo advertisement that read: “Join us for a little taste of Mexico (might as well before the whole country immigrates here!)."

Off Key Tikki owner Michael Bruemmer acknowledged he wrote the ad, which he meant to be tongue in cheek.

“It was a stupid joke … I apologize. The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone’s feeling. People are reading into it something that it was not intended to be,” Bruemmer told Newsday.

On Facebook, the restaurant published a lengthy apology that read in part: “For those that were offended, once again we apologize and invite all to come down on the 5th and join us in celebrating this day of diversity and respect for this great holiday assimilation."

But for the more than 50 protesters gathered outside Off Key Tikki on Saturday afternoon, the apology did not ring true. Holding signs that said “Don’t patronize a racist establishment,” and ”Please support your Latino Friends and Boycott Off Key Tikki," they sought to hold Bruemmer accountable while denouncing any hateful messaging.

“That apology was totally inadequate. His apology is the typical gaslighting. He is just sorry that we misunderstood him,” said Assem. Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood), who spearheaded the rally.

“There is no way we can spin this any other way but offensive and hateful …," said Ramos, who said the ad insinuated that Mexicans are going to push Americans out.

“Could you imagine how demeaning it is for Hispanic employees to have to work here under those hostile conditions,” he added.

Priscilla Zarate, chairwoman of the Suffolk County Hispanic Advisory Board, said the murder of an Ecuadorian immigrant rattled the community in 2008 and this incident only served to open those wounds.

“Let me remind you that our Patchogue Hispanic community is still healing from the trauma and pain caused almost 14 years ago by the killing of Marcelo Lucero in 2008 who was an Ecuadorian immigrant. We cannot allow history to repeat itself,” Zarate said.

Medford teenager Jeffrey Conroy was convicted in 2010 of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime for fatally stabbing Lucero in Patchogue. Conroy, 30, is serving a 25-year prison sentence upstate in Clinton Correctional Facility.

Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri said that this speech would not be tolerated. “This is a time for everyone to come out and say, 'No more hate. The hate has to stop,' " Pontieri said.

Kathy Granados, 27, was at the rally with her mother, who lives across the street from the restaurant. She said she'd never patronize the business again. “I was mad. I was appalled he could even write something like that, and I was surprised that it would come from a place so close to home. … you don’t ever imagine that people actually think like that.”