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In a Facebook post on Friday, Oct. 18, the owners of Kith And Kin in Hudson, Massachusetts, said they were flooded with positive messages from customers and community members.
As you can imagine, it has been an emotional week for us. We have been greatly uplifted by the outpouring of love and support from the Hudson and surrounding communities. Our family and our staff cannot thank you enough for the kindness you have shown us. We have been so overwhelmed by the positive messages of support we have received, and though we have been slow to respond to them all, we have read them and deeply appreciate them.
The restaurant became a target of harassment after a group of living historians dined there on Saturday, Oct. 12, following a re-enactment event, CBS News reported. Four were dressed as American soldiers, one woman donned a military nurse's outfit, and two others wore Nazi SS Soldier uniforms.
The American Heritage Museum, which put on the re-enactment, called their decision to wear the uniforms off the battlefield and in a public space "repugnant."
Kith and Kin owners also accepted some of the blame and apologized in a Facebook post.
"Even though we knew they were living historians, at a time when acts of anti-Semitic violence continue to rise, we should have realized other diners might not be aware of the local WWll re-enactment," they wrote. "If we truly thought these individuals held anti-Semitic beliefs, we would never have allowed them to step foot in the restaurant."
After local news stations reported on the incident, the restaurant said it was deluged with threats and hateful comments. The owners closed the eatery on Tuesday, Oct. 15, to protect their employees, they said in another Facebook post.
After reopening, Kith and Kin owners thanked the community and customers for sticking by them through the ordeal.
Gary Lewi, an American Heritage Museum trustee, told an ABC News affiliate that the organization would put safeguards in place to keep actors from wearing their uniforms in public.
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