Patrons have beef with politically incorrect deli sign
By
Tom Spears
First posted: Thursday, October 13, 2016 03:53 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, October 13, 2016 08:05 PM EDT
OTTAWA - So you run a popular store and decide to amuse your customers with a sign making fun of a woman's breasts and legs.
You put it on Facebook for good measure.
What could go wrong?
It was an attempt at humour about the U.S. election, but Saslove's Meats on Wellington Street offered — and then removed before issuing an earnest apology — a display of jokes about Hillary Clinton's breast size and Donald Trump's sexual groping.
Lunch special menu board outside Saslove's Meat Market in Ottawa Ontario Thursday Oct. 13, 2016.
Lunch special menu board outside Saslove's Meat Market on Wellington Street in Ottawa Thursday Oct. 13.
Election humour is an old tradition in the food business. A Windsor sandwich shop recently offered a Trump sandwich — white bread full of baloney and a wall of Mexican chips — and there have been election hamburgers and pizzas with silly names for years.
Saslove's went further.
The Clinton special is "small turkey breast (and) big turkey thighs," and one left wing, it says.
The Trump special: the "Trump Grab A Rump Package," featuring a variety of meats that are half price off the rear end. There's also a whole turkey, white meat only. It's tax free, a reference to Trump's aversion to paying tax.
The store took a pasting after showing the chalkboard on its Facebook page. Comments ran from short ("Shame," "Disgusting," "This is really distasteful") to longer but equally pointed: "So, how's this marketing campaign working out for you so far? #onelesscustomer."
The entry is now deleted.
Owner Joel Diener was not happy with the attention.
"Well, the sign's not up any more," he said. "I don't need any more hassles. I've got enough hassles in my life.
"I'd rather not talk about it, like it never existed."
He said it wasn't meant to offend customers.
"A couple of people objected but most people just saw it as kind of funny," he said.
"I know you're going to do what you're going to do, but it's going to cost me a lot of grief and it's something I should never have done."
Diener said he made a similar posting about Jean Chrétien during an election campaign years ago, and it went badly.
"So I've been lying low for about 10 years."
What was in the Chrétien package?
"I'm not telling you now, but I had the whole PMO after me. I don't need the CIA after me now."
He said he is "a victim of trying to have a little fun."
Late Thursday afternoon, the business put a message on Facebook, saying “we humbly apologize.”
“As you all know, we are a local business dedicated to our community and in no way do we endorse any type of misogynistic, belittling, shaming or bullying behaviour,” the post said.
“In our misguided amateurish attempt at political satire of the American political situation we went too far.
“We ask for your forgiveness. We had no intention of offending anyone and we are sorry that we did."
With files from Megan Gillis
tspears@postmedia.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
Special joke menu board outside Saslove’s Meat Market. TONY CALDWELL / POSTMEDIA NETWORK
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