Five days after receiving a "letter containing death threats" and temporarily closing as a precaution, Pittsburgh's Conflict Kitchen is re-open for business. The restaurant, which "only serves cuisine from countries with which the United States is in conflict," posted on its blog that it would resume normal hours today "after consultation with local law enforcement agencies." The threatening letter was sent to a Pittsburgh police precinct on November 7, allegedly in response to Conflict Kitchen's current Palestine-themed menu. (Past iterations of Conflict Kitchen have featured Cuban, Iranian, Afghan, and Venezuelan cuisine.)
Although the menu has been in place since October, the threat arrived one day after a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article helped publicize the menu, which is served to guests in wrappers containing interviews with Palestinian residents. (A Fox News article published in October called the restaurant "anti-Israel," which owners Jon Rubin and Dawn Weleski have said is a "misrepresentation" of the restaurant's mission statement.) In a blog post published in response to the Post-Gazette, Conflict Kitchen wrote that its food wrappers always feature personally conducted interviews with residents of the featured countries, and that "we believe that presenting the viewpoints of Palestinians promotes understanding of Palestinians."
Yesterday, roughly 200 supporters showed up at the restaurant in solidarity with Rubin and Weleski. In their re-opening announcement today, the duo write that "we greatly appreciate all of the incredible support that we have received during our closure, and we are eager to reopen our Palestinian iteration." The threat investigation, meanwhile, is "ongoing."