A Black entrepreneur whose business became a target of an extremely unpleasant social media post is picking up the pieces and getting his business back on its feet. TC Cuthbertson was accused last June in a community Facebook page of being anti-cop and calls were made on the community members not to patronize his catering business.
He runs The Falls Banquet by EventRoostr, a catering/event planning business on M-Y Lane, near Morrisville. However, by the time Cuthbertson saw the post, it had been shared online a hundred times. Although the charge was a lie, he was at a lost what to do to salvage his business.
“Learning that my business was being smeared on a community (Facebook) page, and the rate at which it was spreading, was devastating, being in the hospitality business,” he told Courier Times. “I know how much a negative reputation can destroy a business and the fact that the rumor was completely false made it even worse.”
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The charge came amid nationwide protests sparked by George Floyd’s murder by a White cop in Minneapolis. There were even calls on the Facebook community page for Cuthbertson’s business to be “burned down.”
According to Courier Times, it all started when a group of police officers gathered in front of Cuthbertson’s business to have lunch. He initially thought there was trouble that is why so many police officers had gathered in front of his banquet hall’s grounds. After inquiring from the police officers, Cuthbertson requested to be given a heads-up next time they gathered at his place.
However, some people who were watching from afar completely misunderstood the encounter. A woman reportedly posted on social media that Cuthbertson has refused to allow police use his place for lunch and called on the community to boycott his business.
The good news for Cuthbertson was that the Falls Police Department issued a disclaimer clarifying that there was no hostility between the department and the banquet hall. A lawyer also contacted a journalist and fellow high school alum and they wrote a column to debunk the false claims made on Facebook.
“Without that story correcting the record, I don’t know what our reputation would be in the community,” Cuthbertson told Courier Times.
“The post came down immediately,” he said. “We had customers come in and they said, ‘Hey, I read about you in the newspaper, really sad that type of thing had to happen to you. Let us know if you need any help.’ Things like that.”
Cuthbertson has returned to business as usual following the one year old encounter.
