text: El Tiempo Cantina shuts down social media accounts amid backlash over Jeff Sessions photo 
   
   A photo of AG Jeff Sessions at the restaurant was posted on the now deleted social accounts of El Tiempo Cantina Friday. The chain appears to have deleted their social media accounts Saturday amid growing backlash. less A photo of AG Jeff Sessions at the restaurant was posted on the now deleted social accounts of El Tiempo Cantina Friday. The chain appears to have deleted their social media accounts Saturday amid growing ... more Photo: El Tiempo Photo: El Tiempo Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close El Tiempo Cantina shuts down social media accounts amid backlash over Jeff Sessions photo 1 / 32 Back to Gallery 
   
   Houston chain El Tiempo Cantina appears to have deleted its social media pages, a day after a photo of the restaurant's owner with Attorney General Jeff Sessions drew outrage and calls for a boycott. 
   
   El Tiempo did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the chain's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages were down Saturday afternoon. 
   
   On Friday, owner Roland Laurenzo posted a photo with a caption saying it was an "honor" to serve Sessions, who was in town to discuss immigration enforcement with law enforcement officers. The post was quickly condemned by customers, some of whom called for a boycott. 
   
   ON THE RECORD: Houston Latino Trump Coalition films campaign song at an El Tiempo restaurant with owner's endorsement 
   
   Laurenzo soon after responded, writing that the photo "does not represent us supporting (Sessions') positions." 
   
   "El Tiempo does not in anyway support the practice of separating children from parents or any other practices of the government relative to immigration," Laurenzo wrote, according to CultureMap. "The posting of a photograph of the Attorney General at one of our restaurants does not represent us supporting his positions. The secret service contacted us that a government official was coming to dinner at our establishment and his identity was not know until he walked through the door." 
   
   READ MORE: AG Jeff Sessions has breakfast at Houston mainstay La Mexicana before speech on immigration 
   
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   "The man came to dinner and he was served without us even thinking about the political situations. We were preoccupied with the secret service and catering to their wants and needs. The only thing on our minds was serving great food and giving great customer service. It was posted without review or approval by ownership and this has lead to everyone jumping to conclusions that somehow we are involved in this political matter. We don't approve of anyone separating parents and children." ||||| UPDATE: Since the publication of the post, all El Tiempo social media accounts have been deactivated, according to CultureMap content partner ABC13. 
   
   "People are insulting us in such a dramatic fashion, and we feel like we don't deserve it," El Tiempo Cantina owner Roland Laurenzo tells ABC13. "At least temporarily I had it taken down because I don't want to be insulted, my children to be insulted, my family to be insulted." 
   
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   Attorney General Jeff Sessions' visit to Houston has put one local restaurant in the crosshairs of the national debate about how restaurants should treat members of the Trump administration. 
   
   Sessions, in town on Friday, August 10, to address a meeting of federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials about the need to crackdown on violent crime and illegal immigration, dined at an El Tiempo Cantina in the Inner Loop after his speech. In turn, the restaurant posted a photo on Facebook of Sessions standing with chef-owner Domenic Laurenzo and a caption that read as follows: 
   
   "We had the honor to server [sic] Mr. Jeff Sessions, Attorney General of the United States. Thank you for allowing us to serve you." 
   
   Sessions' key role in the Trump administration's immigration policies, including increased deportation and the practice of separating parents and children who attempt to cross the border illegally, has made him a controversial figure. 
   
   People immediately called for a boycott of any restaurant that considered serving him "an honor," and the original post was quickly deleted. In its place, the restaurant posted the following statement from owner Roland Laurenzo: 
   
   El Tiempo does not in anyway support the practice of separating children from parents or any other practices of the government relative to immigration. The posting of a photograph of the Attorney General at one of our restaurants does not represent us supporting his positions. The secret service contacted us that a government official was coming to dinner at our establishment and his identity was not know until he walked through the door. The man came to dinner and he was served without us even thinking about the political situations. We were preoccupied with the secret service and catering to their wants and needs. The only thing on our minds was serving great food and giving great customer service. It was posted without review or approval by ownership and this has lead to everyone jumping to conclusions that somehow we are involved in this political matter. We don’t approve of anyone separating parents and children. 
   
   Of course, that did little to stem the criticism, except that it now included Trump administration supporters who disagreed with the restaurant's new statement and Trump administration opponents who asserted the damage had already been done. Others suggested that a restaurant should always feel honored to serve a senior government official regardless of whether the restaurant's staff agrees or disagrees with the person's policies and that El Tiempo had done nothing wrong by thanking the Attorney General for his visit. 
   
   How restaurants should treat Trump administration officials has been a hot topic since June, when Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders reported that she has been asked to leave The Red Hen in Lexington, Virginia. Danny Meyer, the legendary New York restaurateur and founder of Shake Shack, told CBS This Morning that refusing service based on someone's beliefs constituted a slippery slope. 
   
   "The minute you see me checking people's political registration at the door, that's a bad future, I think, for our business," Meyer said. 
   
   Curiously, El Tiempo isn't the only Tex-Mex restaurant that Sessions dined at during his visit. He ate breakfast at La Mexicana, the popular Montrose Tex-Mex restaurant. Unlike El Tiempo, La Mexicana did not promote that Sessions had visited; rather, a reddit user spotted his security detail standing guard in front of the restaurant. 
   
   Zulema Gonzales, La Mexicana's general manager, confirmed the visit to the Houston Chronicle. She said that Sessions seemed unsure about what to order and settled on huevos rancheros at the suggestion of Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, who also attended the breakfast. 
   
   "We treat everybody the same," Gonzales told the newspaper. ||||| HOUSTON — A Houston culinary dynasty has come under fire after a photo with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions began circulating online. 
   
   Sessions is pictured with El Tiempo restaurant co-owner Dominic Laurenzo during a recent visit to Houston. 
   
   Sessions' tough stance on immigration, coupled with the perceived endorsement by the Tex-Mex restaurant, has resulted in a hailstorm of complaints and even death threats. 
   
   Laurenzo's Restaurants president Roland Laurenzo says in no way does the social media post equate to an endorsement of Sessions' politics. He says the company feels quite the opposite. 
   
   Laurenzo says the photo was taken with his son Dominic at the El Tiempo restaurant on Navigation Boulevard after Sessions finished his dinner. 
   
   He says they discussed fajitas and Sessions was treated like any other guest -- with kindness and hospitality. 
   
   It wasn’t until later, when the photo was passed on to the company’s social media manager, that things took off. 
   
   Laurenzo says she wrote the caption on the post. 
   
   “In retrospect, it was a mistake because it angered so many people," Laurenzo said. "We have gotten so many complaints and comments. And threats, death threats. This has been extremely shocking to our family.” 
   
   Laurenzo says his company is not in favor of separating families and do no agree with Sessions' views on gay rights. 
   
   The post was pulled Saturday. 
   
   Laurenzo says he's hopeful customers will see what the family has represented for Hispanic Houstonians for decades. 
   
   © 2018 KHOU
target: – A longtime Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston has been caught up in the volatile politics of the day, with some calling for a boycott of El Tiempo Cantina. And it's all because Jeff Sessions came to dinner, explains CultureMap. After the attorney general ate there Friday, the owner posted a since-deleted photo online of his son posing with Sessions, saying it had been an "honor" to serve him. Those opposed to White House policies on immigration quickly pounced, with calls for a boycott and worse, reports KHOU. "Death threats," says owner Roland Laurenzo. The restaurant then posted an apology to those it offended and tried to distance itself from White House policies. "El Tiempo does not in [any way] support the practice of separating children from parents or any other practices of the government relative to immigration," Laurenzo wrote. "The posting of a photograph of the Attorney General at one of our restaurants does not represent us supporting his positions." Of course, that prompted supporters of the White House to join the debate, and now El Tiempo is taking flak from both sides. Meanwhile, the restaurant's Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages went dark over the weekend, notes the Houston Chronicle. (A restaurant in Virginia also entered the political fray.)