A popular local food business was confronted on Thursday over racist social media postings written by one of its key employees.
Majdi Wadi, CEO of Holy Land Brand Inc., which operates a Middle Eastern grocery store, restaurant and deli in northeast Minneapolis, apologized for the 2016 posting and revealed that it was written by his daughter, Lianne Wadi, the company's catering director. She was fired.
"Not only as a CEO, but as a father, it is my duty and responsibility to ensure my family and Holy Land team members all demonstrate high integrity and moral compass guidelines," Majdi Wadi wrote on the company's Facebook page. "We will now work, harder than before, to better ourselves through education, volunteering, and open conversation and forums with all our community to ensure we leave a positive impact."
Lianne Wadi issued her own apology via Instagram.
"I was a teenager at the time (although my youth is not an excuse) and wasn't educated on how the words I chose would affect and offend others, including myself," she wrote. "Over the years, I have grown and I have took it upon myself to learn and understand how my words and actions can affect other people."
After their apologies were posted, an additional series of racist, anti-Semitic and pro-Hitler postings were revealed on a Twitter account with the name @LianneWadi. That account has been deleted.
Reaction has been swift. On Thursday afternoon, the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis terminated the lease of Holy Land's 14-year-old grocery, butcher shop and deli.
"The comments on those posts do not in any way reflect those of the Midtown Global Market," reads a statement. "In fact, they are in direct opposition to the reason Midtown Global Market was created and opened in 2006: to be a shared community space and cultural center that celebrates the diversity of its business owners, guests and visitors. In no way does Midtown Global Market tolerate any words, actions, or activity that do not support our global community."