A Midway District restaurant owner is a huge fan of Donald Trump and he’s not afraid to show it.

Mario Waclawski, a Polish refugee who came to the United States 30 years ago, has decked out his funky Hancock Street Café sandwich shop with a huge “Trump 2016” sign that sits prominently out front on the roof of the building.

The front of the Hancock Cafe. ( / Debbi Baker)

That’s in addition to his framed “D.J. Trump for President sign,” his “Californians for Trump” placard (that’s held by a Marilyn Monroe statue) and numerous Trump bumper stickers, Trump photos, Trump posters and even a ‘Trumposaurus,” a dinosaur statue that’s wearing a sombrero.


A “Trumposaurus” sits in front of the Hancock Street Cafe in the Midway District. ( / Debbi Baker)

“I love this man,” exclaimed Waclawski. “Just look at his life and his experience.”

He said that Trump is a “winner” whose tough language about topics like immigration is meant to be a wake-up call for America.

Plus, said the businessman, Trump is “bringing people together like never before.”


Waclawski opened his shop on Hancock Street in 2002 after he and his family moved to San Diego from the East Coast where he ended up after fleeing communist Poland three decades ago. He had spent six months in a refugee camp before he immigrated to New York.

He ended up coming west with his three children after his wife died. He bought the business and has been serving up sandwiches ever since.

Waclawski said he thinks Trump is a winner and he is not the only one who thinks so. He put out a guest book in November in which almost 200 comments have been left, and 85 to 95 percent of them have been positive.

“This book is going to be delivered to the White House when he’s elected,” Waclawski said.


Not every customer is Trump-inclined. Regular customer Robert Witcher, an 81-year-old retired aerospace worker, said he is not a fan of the leading GOP nominee. “I want to see a woman president,” Witcher said with a laugh. But, he added, that Waclawski is a friend and he appreciates how he expresses himself.

And someone else who apparently was not too fond of the billionaire businessman had taken one of Waclawski’s first Trump signs and put it in the street and drove over it. It has since been recovered and sits inside the restaurant.

But Waclawski said that for every person who might be put off by his obvious support of Donald Trump, there are others who agree.

And, he said the main thing is that it gets people talking and when people talk they can get together.


“Why not?” said Waclawski. “This is America. I love it.”