Walkerton pizzeria that refused to cater a gay wedding has now closed

WALKERTON — Memories Pizza, the shop that became embroiled in the national debate over religious and civil rights and touched off a national media firestorm in 2015, has closed.

A sign in the front window of the pizza shop says it was shuttered last month.

Owners Kevin and Crystal O’Connor were the focus of intense criticism and media attention in April 2015 after they told an ABC 57 reporter that they wouldn’t cater a gay wedding because of their religious beliefs, although they added that they would not deny service to any customer in the restaurant.

Indiana at the time was already in the national spotlight for its controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The pizza shop owners’ comments soon went viral, and media outlets such as the Washington Post, CNN and Fox News descended on Walkerton, using Memories Pizza as a focal point for the controversy over Indiana’s law. Supporters of the law said it would protect the religious rights of business owners while critics said it would be used to discriminate against gay people and others.

Read more: https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/business/walkerton-pizzeria-once-at-center-of-national-controversy-has-now/article_83b23989-40ef-554f-b4ab-d4657cf0a150.html



Employees of conservative television network and website The Blaze created a GoFundMe account for the restaurant, saying it hopes to raise money to recoup the profit losses the owners are experiencing. The page went on to raise more than $842,000.

More at https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/04/23/indiana-pizzeria-backed-rfra-and-declined-cater-same-sex-weddings-closes-good/542975002/