In this PJ Media article, Sarah Anderson reports that a popular black-owned Atlanta brunch restaurant faces boycott calls after its co-owner took a photo with Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson, with Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms adding fuel to the controversy.
- Toast on Lenox, a successful black-owned brunch spot co-owned by Tamara Young and Chef Virgil Harper with locations in Buckhead and Midtown, is known for updated Southern dishes and friendly service.
- Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson dined at the restaurant, spoke with Young, and later posted a photo of the two, stating he would fight for small business owners like her if elected.
- The photo triggered swift online backlash, with critics across Georgia and beyond calling for a boycott simply because the co-owner appeared in a picture with a Republican.
- The restaurant owners responded on social media that they welcome guests from all walks of life, regularly take photos with high-profile visitors, and that the picture was not a political endorsement.
- Democratic candidate and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms posted a video citing the “online chatter,” cautioning business owners about “opening their doors” to Jackson and warning them not to “allow people to piss on us and then tell us that it’s raining.”
- Bottoms criticized Jackson for visiting black barbershops, female-owned businesses, and Mexican restaurants while opposing DEI and supporting deportation of illegal immigrants.
- Jackson’s campaign noted that Bottoms’ own COVID-era policies as mayor forced roughly 100 Atlanta small businesses to close permanently.
- Prominent Atlanta residents and activists criticized Bottoms for fanning the flames of the boycott rather than defending a minority-owned business that simply served a customer.
Read the full story:
https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2026/07/24/black-owned-atlanta-restaurant-faces-boycott-calls-for-serving-a-republican-n4955422
