Piatto Pronto 'Doing Okay' Since Owner Wore 'I Can Breathe' Shirt

By Mae Rice in News on Jan 12, 2016 7:50PM

The owner of Andersonville Italian deli Piatto Pronto—who apologized profusely to Chicagoist on Friday for wearing an “I can breathe. I follow the law” shirt—told Chicagoist Monday that business has been decent since the photo on the right went viral.

“We’re doing okay,” Mike said. (He still would not share his last name.) “Last time I talked to you, I was feeling upset. Now, I feel better… [but] disappointed that people will just judge you without knowing you.”

Mike’s shirt's message was a reference to the death of Eric Garner, who famously gasped "I can't breathe" before he died in an illegal chokehold at the hands of New York police officers.

Recently, a lot of new customers have been stopping by the deli, curious about the T-shirt controversy, Mike said.

“They don’t bring up the t-shirt,” he added, but he reports that people compliment him on various things: speaking his mind, supporting the law, apologizing for his mistake.

It doesn’t seem the social media scandal will do lasting damage to the business.

When the photo, taken by a customer, first exploded on Facebook, the shop’s Facebook ratings “were one star for one night; the following night, we jump up to three stars,” Mike said. He attributes this to loyal customers weighing in and counterbalancing the outrage.

The deli now has a 3.3 star rating, out of 5, on its Facebook page.