Indiana pizzeria that refused to cater to gay weddings shuts down
The restaurant's owners refused to cater gay weddings over religious beliefs
An Indiana pizzeria that refused to cater to gay weddings has shut down.
Memories Pizza, in Walkerton, Indiana, infamously became one of the first restaurants to use Indiana’s Religious Freedom law to refuse service to members of the LGBT community back in 2015.
Now, three years later, the shop has reportedly shut down.
According to the South Bend Tribune, a sign in the front window of the shop indicates it had shut down sometime last month. The residents of Walkterton believe the pizza shop shut down because the owners were “ready to retire” and that its closure had nothing to do with the 2015 controversy.
Owners Kevin and Crystal O’Connor hit headlines in April 2015 when they revealed their restaurant would never cater to LGBT people because of their religious beliefs but insisted they would never deny service to a customer in their restaurant.
Following the announcement, the pair were hit with criticism and an intense backlash forced them to close the restaurant temporarily for eight days.
During that time, loyal customer Lawrence Billy Jones III set up a GoFundMe page and raised over $50,000 dollars, allowing the restaurant to open once again.
Many celebrities stood with the LGBT community including former president Barack Obama who shaded the restaurant during a White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech in 2015.
Several months later, the pizzeria accidentally catered a gay wedding and now, three years later, it seems the restaurant has finally shut for good.