The Patio Drive-In on Oriskany Boulevard made a posting on the social media site notifying customers they'd be closed for a few days because of the virus. Based on that initial posting, it's unclear if an employee was exposed or tested positive, however, the use of the 'China Flu' sparked many to label the eatery 'racist', according to Syracuse.com:

“UNFORTUNATE ANNOUNCEMENT,” the Patio Drive-In in Utica, N.Y., wrote on Facebook. “THE CHINA FLU HAS HIT US WITH A POSITIVE EXPOSURE I FEEL TERRIBLE BUT FOR THE SAFTY (sic) OF OUR STAFF & PATRON’S WE WILL BE CLOSED UNTIL MARCH 3rd.”

Among the public comments still viewable on the restaurant's page include: ''I cannot in good faith recommend any place that uses racially derogatory terms in their social media post,'' and, ''Very unprofessional and racist . How can you trust someone serving your food that’s a proud racist?''

In its article, Syracuse.com reports the post referring to 'China Flu' was taken down and followed up with an apology soon after. As of Tuesday evening, the initial posting and apology had been taken down from the page.

“We will be closed until March 2nd. We had exposure to covid so we are taking every precaution to keep our employees and customers safe. We look forward to seeing you all then,” the restaurant’s official Facebook page said Sunday. “To those we offended with previous post, we sincerely apologize.”

WIBX reached out to the Patio Drive-In for comment but did not hear back as of this posting.

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