ERIE (WWJ) - A Downriver orchard and cider mill owner is going viral in Metro Detroit, but not for very good reasons after he hurled racist remarks towards a Muslim family over the weekend — and all of it was captured on camera.
Yousef "Joe" Abu Jenna Mahmoud, a Palestinian immigrant, took to Facebook on Monday to share footage of his exchange with Steve Elzinga, the owner of the Erie Orchards and Cider Mill, when his family was confronted during their weekend visit the day before.
"I wish I didn't have to write this, but yesterday's unfortunate incident compelled me to share my story and ask for your support," Mahmoud wrote.
Mahmoud said he was at the Monroe County orchard — a "seemingly family-friendly place," he wrote — located at 1235 Erie Road in Erie, with his wife and thee daughters, aged 8, 4 and 6 months, on Sunday when he asked an employee about the price of U-pick peaches.
According to Mahmoud, his daughters wanted to experience picking fruit from the orchard. As he inquired about it, the employee mentioned there weren't many peaches available since they were mostly out, but the family was free to walk around and look "without charge if we found anything in the orchard worth taking."
Mahmoud mentioned he had already spent close to $70 on already-picked items before heading into the orchard. His family managed to fill a bag of mostly rotten peaches and apples and were on their way back to their vehicle when things went downhill.
"A man, later identified as the owner, confronted us accusingly," Mahmoud said in his social media post. "[Elzinga] opened my vehicle door, began to rifle through our bags on the floor, and without any provocation, he stated, 'You people are always stealing.' Shocked and willing to rectify any misunderstanding, I explained the information his staff had given us and that we were more than willing to pay for anything necessary. Then, to our horror and in front of my young girls began expressing openly racist sentiments, stating he didn't want Muslims at the orchard, all they do is steal, and that he didn't need us to patronize his business."
Mahmoud managed to get his phone out during the interaction and captured the conversation on video.
"I'm getting sick of you folks come down here," Elzinga is heard saying.
"Who is 'you folks?'" Mahmoud asked Elzinga. "I don't understand."
"Every Muslim that comes in here steals from me," Elzinga replied.
"Every Muslim that comes in here steals from you?" Mahmoud repeated back.
"That's right," Elzinga said. "And that's why you're going to pay."
"That's racist. You're a racist," Mahmoud said
"Oh, of course I am," Elzinga replied as the camera recorded his face.
Mahmoud said he "began to fear for the safety of my family' and gave the fruit back Elzinga. The husband and father then tried to leave by slowly backing out of their parking space knowing the owner was still standing nearby, but Mahmoud said Elzinga began ramming his truck with his shoulder.
When WXYZ reporter Faraz Javed went out to follow up on the story with Elzinga, the owner asked him, "Are you, his brother?"
Elzinga then told WXYZ that he made the comments out of frustration over recent incidents of items begin taken from his farm without being paid for.
"I've had several problems with Muslims who have come in and picked and don't pay. Oh, they thought it was free. He was the third one on Sunday that came, had $57 worth of apples, and said no, I'm not paying," Elzinga told Javed.
When asked if he was sorry for the comments he made towards Mahmoud and his family, Elzinga said no.
"You know what, why do we have to put up with that almost on a daily and weekly basis?" Elzinga told WXYZ. "Every time a Muslim would drive in, my staff would call me and say, 'We have Muslims out there. We got to be extremely careful.'"
The owner explained that he knew who was Muslin because the women "all have this and that," and gestured around his head to symbolize a hijab, a traditional head covering worn by most Muslim women.
Elzinga did say that he won't generalize in the future and that he harbors no hate. The owner mentioned that there are many Muslims who visit his orchard who pick and pay for their items with no issues.
"Obviously, I don't feel this way about everybody, OK, about Muslims. We've had a lot of Muslims who've come here and are good people," he told WXYZ.
Elzinga said he plans to implement a checkpoint for guests to and from the orchard to combat theft issues. He said it wont be racially driven.
For Mahmoud, he hopes sharing the shocking encounter will shed light on Elzinga and give patrons second thoughts about giving their money to such a business.
"Think about supporting other places, not Erie Orchard & Cider Mills," he wrote.
