At this time of all times, the UGA Athletic Association decided to tweet in favor of supporting local restaurants, with a big header that said “support local.” The problem is what followed it: a list of chains, only two of which (Grindhouse and Zaxby’s) could sorta be described as local restaurants.
Yes, chain and franchise restaurants are owned by local people, and local people work there, but encouraging people to support McDonald’s, Papa John’s and Subway isn’t exactly the best way to bring money back into the hurting local economy. The explanation, of course, is that these are the places that advertise with the Athletic Association, and the end of the tweet reads, “Thank you for continuing to support our partners.”
Twitter, of course, showed no mercy. A sampling of the reaction:
:
Flagpole encourages you to support actual local businesses, owned and operated by your friends and neighbors, such as the restaurants listed in our frequently updated list of places to eat at the moment, who didn’t pay us to be listed. We’re pretty confident McDonald’s is doing OK.
Like what you just read? Support Flagpole by making a donation today. Every dollar you give helps fund our ongoing mission to provide Athens with quality, independent journalism.
