AKRON, Ohio — An Instagram post by Karma Kafe, a bar and hookah lounge in Akron, is getting national attention.
The post shows the bar attempting to capitalize on 9/11 with a drink special. It’s a picture of a red, white, and blue shot.
The caption reads: “Today’s special, the 9/11 shot only $4!!! Because why not capitalize on something that happened 18 years ago.”
The part about capitalizing on 9/11 has since been deleted, but it wasn’t before the screenshots had circulated throughout social media.
A commenter on the post asked, “what organization will the money be going to that supports those affected by 9/11?” to which the “karmakafeakron” responds, “well, the organization of Karma Kafe silly.”
The owner of the cafe told News 5 media partner at the Akron Beacon Journal that he has dark humor and that “people just don’t get the irony,” comparing the drink special to discounted mattresses or cars on Labor and Memorial Day.
He also said to the journal “Yeah, you passed away,” he said to the victims. “And I’m sorry, but so much has happened since 9/11 and you can’t just focus on the dying anymore.”
Already, though, the bar has lost an entire star on the public-rating site Yelp. One reviewer said “Capitalizing on the death of almost 3,000 and then not taking accountability is disgusting.”
On the original Instagram post, karmakafeakron said “no publicity is bad publicity,” but the majority of the comments aren’t good.
