After posting a picture of Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn being served breakfast at Gibson's Donuts in East Memphis, the long-standing doughnut shop received swift and immediate backlash, and it's still mounting according to Gibson's owner Don DeWeese.

"So far, we've received over 1,200 negative emails through Facebook," DeWeese said. That was in addition to the four broadcast news stations that showed up almost immediately to get DeWeese's perspective.

For DeWeese, the doughnut is not political, and this is not the first time the shop has served a politician breakfast.

DeWeese points out that former Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton would come in regularly for donuts. In 2010, then newly-elected Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam also sat down for a fritter or two.

"We did not have one negative response back then. Not one," said DeWeese.

Today they have plenty.

DeWeese is adamant that Gibson's does not endorse any political party or candidate. Instead, he wonders what could have been done differently to avoid the swift internet response and calls for boycotts.

"If we had told her (Blackburn) no, we probably would have gotten hit with a lot of negative social media. It was a no-win situation for us," DeWeese said. "Her team called us the day before and asked if they could come in, they said it would be 12 to 20 of them."

DeWeese said, sure, come on in.

"But, they would still have to wait in line like any other paying customer, otherwise that wouldn't be fair," DeWeese said, "and, they paid for everything."

In mid-September, Blackburn and the University of Memphis both took fire when a video of Blackburn appearing with U of M cheerleaders chanting "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!" made the rounds on the internet before being taken down by her campaign.

U of M quickly issued a statement refuting any notion that the university was endorsing Marsha.

That same Blackburn trip also included an appearance at Jerry's Sno Cones, another Memphis dessert institution.

Around lunchtime today, Gibson's issued an apology with the clarification that they believe their shop must serve everyone who comes in wanting a treat. The post also generated further backlash, with commenters accusing Gibson's of backpedaling.

"I'd be just as happy to host Phil Bredesen too," DeWeese told the Commercial Appeal. "He could come on in and get the exact same treatment."

"We are a family business, and when you open up a business — you have to serve everyone. And that's what we want to do — black, white, rich, poor, Democrat or Republican — come on in. And as for politics, all we want is for our customers to get out and exercise their right to vote," said DeWeese.

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