At The Red Hen restaurant in Swedesboro Saturday morning, staff was preparing for a private event when Operating Manager Elizabeth Pope noticed something strange on the restaurant's Facebook page: tons of angry comments and reviews.

"It was off the chart," she said. "Then the hostess comes to me and says, 'people are calling and yelling and swearing.'"

They had no idea what was going on until they read the news online: A restaurant by the same name nearly 300 miles away in Virginia had asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave.

Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so — Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) June 23, 2018

In response, fired-up supporters of President Donald Trump's press secretary were calling and, even more worrying, leaving terrible online reviews, for a New Jersey restaurant that had nothing to do with the incident Friday.

The owner of the Virginia restaurant told the Washington Post that after discussing it with her staff, she asked Sanders to leave and explained it was because the restaurant has "certain standards that I feel it has to uphold, such as honesty, and compassion, and cooperation."

"We're in no way, shape or form affiliated with them," Pope said of the establishment in Virginia. Pope said she posted on her workplace's Facebook page to clarify that they were not in Virginia and not associated with that restaurant, but many haven't stopped to read it before firing off reviews and nasty comments.

THE RED HEN IN SWEDESBORO, NEW JERSEY IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH THE RED HEN IN VIRGINIA. We are an independent,... Posted by The RED HEN on Saturday, June 23, 2018

"People have no idea. They've dropped our rating from a 4.8 stars to three-point-something," Pope said. "People need to check the facts and do research before they make comments and try to ruin a small business."

The same thing apparently happened to another restaurant in Washington, D.C. with the same name, which tweeted out a clarification.

Good morning! @PressSec went to the unaffiliated @RedHenLex last night, not to our DC-based restaurant. — The Red Hen (@RedHenDC) June 23, 2018

Pope said most of the largely out-of-state callers are just rude, but a few have said vaguely threatening things like "I hope someone burns it down" or "I'll make sure you lose your business."

She said they haven't notified the police, but they are documenting the calls. There have been over 100 within about six hours Saturday afternoon, she said.

The mom-and-pop establishment in Gloucester County, known for its burgers, has been operating for six years and just added a new ice cream and candy shop. It has lots of local fans, and some have taken to social media to help combat the negative reviews with five-star messages of support.

"I am concerned with what it can do in the long-term," Pope said of the negative reviews, including 92 one-star reviews on Facebook. Some of them mention flies and other fictitious issues, though the reviewer is from several states away and has ostensibly never been to the Swedesboro eatery. Others accused them of discriminating and likened them to Nazis.

Pope said the actions of the Virginia restaurant are not her concern. The Red Hen in New Jersey, she said, is a "live and let live" atmosphere and doesn't discriminate against anyone who wants to eat there.

"We serve all," she said.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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