A longtime Omaha restaurant has closed its doors for good.
The Caniglia family, owners of 11-Worth Cafe, say they have permanently closed following fallout from social media posts, a controversial dish name and protests. Last week, screenshots from Tony Caniglia's, the owner's son, personal Facebook page made the rounds with people online calling him a racist. The incident also brought up the fact that the restaurant has long featured a biscuits and gravy dish called the Robert E. Lee.
Over the weekend protesters stood outside the restaurant for hours and called on the family to make a change to their menu and issue an apology over Tony's Facebook posts. On Monday, a handwritten closed sign was put up on the front door, and now The Caniglia family says that move is permanent.
The family says "numerous threats" were made to family members on social media as well as two incidents at family homes where police had to be called.
"The verbal abuse, taunting and having to be escorted to and from their cars by police and security officers for their safety for two straight days was more than we could watch them endure," according to a Wednesday release from The Caniglia Family.
In the release, the family thanked staff and customers for "so much support and love over the past forty-four years."
"Our staff and customers were the backbone of our operation and we appreciated every one of them," the release states.