“It was horrific,” said Richards. Picos received calls, private messages on social media and emails threatening to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the restaurant’s staff and saying their green cards and paperwork need to be checked. “I never imagined that they would go that far,” she said, adding that Picos has “always been by the book.”…

A few weeks ago in east downtown, a woman hit a manager in the face at Miss Carousel over a mask dispute. “And that was when it was still mandated,” said Morgan Weber, co-owner of parent company Agricole Hospitality. His restaurants received negative comments on social media this week, but he doesn’t yet know if that will be the extent of the backlash.

“This weekend will be telling,” he said. “I imagine there will be a contingent of people that are going out specifically to prove a point and pick a fight about it.”

Weber said he is having conversations with his staff on how to de-escalate potential situations.