Community Connections: Community supports new Afghan restaurant in Manchester after hateful comments made online

The owners of a new Afghan restaurant in Manchester say they are trying to stay positive after receiving hateful comments online.

Rumi Kabob House has only been officially open on Elm Street for five days, and owner Sip Woodod said the response from people coming into the restaurant has been great, but the response online has been hurtful.

Opening their new restaurant was a dream come true for the family, Woodod said.

"My mom started saying, 'I'd love to open my own restaurant,'" he said. "So me, my father and my brothers and our entire family got together. And for the last seven months, we turned this place around."

Woodod said that after the restaurant posted videos on social media trying to get the word out that the business was open, some people left comments highlighting negative stereotypes about Afghan people, culture and food.

"It's been 20 years of us trying to get away from this," Woodod said. "And it still follows us till this day. Specifically, one guy on Google wrote, 'Do not support terrorism.' And it's sad because my dad and my brother both served in Afghanistan with the American military."

He said the support from nearby businesses is helping him and his family stay positive.

Woodod said the online abuse hasn't risen to the level of threats, and the police have not had to get involved. He said the restaurant is documenting everything in case it gets worse.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2bbzhkF3SvLaOSgpmvQ1dc?si=804af691f3f64d90