Memories Pizza, a takeout restaurant in Walkerton, Indiana, has closed its doors following outrage over remarks the shop owner made regarding same-sex marriage.
Early Wednesday, one of the shop’s owners Crystal O’Connor said she would refuse to cater a same-sex wedding as the shop was a “Christian establishment.” Phone calls and social media responses over the remarks have now forced the restaurant to shutter until temperatures cool.
Co-owner Kevin O’Connor, whose relation to Crystal is unclear, said Memories is “temporarily” dark until “threatening” calls and online posts die down, according to TMZ.
TheWrap’s repeated requests for comment via email and phone have not yet been returned.
“If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no,” O’Connor told local affiliate ABC 57. “We are a Christian establishment.”
Crystal O’Connor said the business is not discriminating against anybody, but she and her family has her beliefs and other people are entitled to their own. Kevin O’Connor reportedly echoed this sentiment.
“We definitely agree with the bill,” Crystal added of the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, saying she doesn’t think the bill targets gays or discriminates but instead protects businesses like hers who have a religious belief.
ABC also spoke to her father: “That’s a lifestyle that you choose, I choose to be heterosexual, they choose to be homosexual—why should I be beat over the head because they choose that lifestyle?”
The company’s Yelp Page—which has a one-star rating—is being besieged with critical comments: “I look forward to the day when Memories Pizza is just that- a DISTANT LONELY MEMORY,” one reviewer wrote.
Jordan Chariton contributed to this report.