On March 20 and April 5, 2026, we shared social media posts regarding restaurant owners David Levesque and Francois Karam and their recent right-wing affiliations and actions.
David Levesque, owner of Brewed Awakenings, opposed a proposed living wage at a recent public minimum wage hearing. He went so far as to say his own daughter did not deserve a living wage while working under him, stating, “She wasn’t worth $15 an hour.”
Francois Karam, owner of Opa The Phoenician, volunteered to host a mural widely seen as a right-wing dog whistle on his establishment. He later celebrated coverage of the mural by John DePetro, a conservative commentator. The business then posted on social media, calling out “weak individuals” who, in their view, were trying to hurt the business and make the situation political.
Our posts can be found here and here, respectively.
* This post summarizes discussions and reporting shared on social media.