Xicha Brewing owner Maggie Antunez was confused as to why her business was receiving so many negative social media messages about an event scheduled Tuesday evening at her business’s North Salem location.
The only reservation scheduled was for an individual who claimed their reservation wasn’t politically related, she said. Meanwhile, Rep. Ed Diehl, a Scio Republican vying for his party’s gubernatorial nomination in the primary, was advertising a separate Cinco de Mayo-themed campaign event at the brewery alongside Dan Farrington, a Republican running to represent Oregon’s 17th House District.
Upon realizing the discrepancy, Xicha Brewery posted to social media about the miscommunication.
“We’ve recently learned that an Oregon representative is promoting an event at our space this evening without our knowledge or approval,” the post reads. “As Latino-owned businesses rooted in the community, we do not condone the use of our space or Cinco de Mayo for political agendas that do not align with our values.”
The brewery, named after a pre-Hispanic corn beverage, became Salem’s first Latin American brewery in 2017. It has since added another location in Eugene. Antunez and her husband own the brewery, which honors their Mexican heritage.
While the brewery has been hired to cater for politicians before, including several events for former Gov. Kate Brown and Gov. Tina Kotek, Antunez said the business does not host political events on site.
Antunez, who was emotional over the phone, said the negative messages her business was receiving were extremely hurtful and misconstrued what she stands for.
“Clearly they don’t know who the owners are,” she said, adding that her business regularly caters at events to support Latino advocacy organizations. “We are a community business. We take care of everyone and we want everyone to feel welcome and loved here.”
Diehl moves event to nearby space
Diehl said he apologized to the business for the miscommunication. Diehl’s team has since moved the event to a rental space within the same building as Xicha.
“We just thought it would be fun,” Diehl told the Capital Chronicle. “We hold events at breweries all the time, and we’ve never held one at Xicha and we thought, ‘Well, let’s do it on Cinco de Mayo. That’d be a blast.”
It’s not guaranteed that a Republican campaign event at a Latino-owned business would be met with enthusiasm.
Last year, Latino-owned businesses in Oregon expressed concerns about the safety of their employees and customers as the Trump administration intensified its immigration enforcement and the rhetoric behind those efforts.
Diehl, who supports undoing parts of Oregon’s sanctuary law, said he supports Latino-owned businesses.
“I stand up for businesses,” he said. “That’s a big part of my campaign. Xicha has a great business going and I fully support what they’re trying to do. I don’t care where you’re from.”
Diehl is welcome to come to Xicha in the future, Antunez said, just not to hold a campaign event.
By Mia Maldonado of news partner Oregon Capital Chronicle
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