Personally, I’ve been a fan of Hell’s Kitchen since moving to the Cities. The place has tons of seating, great food and fun happy hour specials.

Well, now I’ve got one more reason to like this place. Tonight, the owners of Hell’s Kitchen posted an open letter on their Facebook Page to a patron who expressed his concern of the restaurant’s support of the North Star Roller Girls because NSRG have taken a “Vote NO” stance. With permission from Hell’s Kitchen, I’ve posted the letter below in it’s entirety.

An open letter to RB:

Last week, when you threatened to boycott Hell’s Kitchen if we continue to support the North Star Roller Girls because of their “Vote NO” stance on the marriage amendment vote, we were taken aback. Not because you said you’d announce your boycott via Facebook, tweets and calls into local conservative radio shows, but because you were obviously unaware of Hell’s Kitchen’s fierce, longtime support of the GLBT Community. We haven’t just supported the “Vote NO” stance, we’ve embraced it. And we haven’t just embraced it, we’ve also walked the talk by throwing a fundraiser for it as well.

Our employees and 12,448 Hell’s Kitchen Facebook Fans may or may not agree with us, but they know exactly where we stand on this issue. We seem to be in good company because General Mills, IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Google, American Airlines, Gap, Nike, Amazon, T-Mobile, Thomson Reuters, RBC Wealth Management, REI, and hundreds of other businesses have also refused to be bullied. They, too have stood up for what the United Nations calls basic human rights. The exhaustive list also includes schools (Augsburg, Capella, U of M, etc), cities (Duluth, St. Paul, Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Edina, Falcon Heights, Golden Valley, Maplewood, Crystal, Robbinsdale, Mankato, Shakopee), and more and more numerous churches.

Of course we risk alienating certain customers by so publicly getting on a soapbox, but interestingly, when General Mills announced its opposition of the amendment, their stock price shot UP. When NOM called for a boycott of Starbucks, a “Thank You Starbucks” Web campaign received more than 650,000 supporters, while NOM’s “Dump Starbucks” campaign has received about 45,000.

Yes, we realize the amendment has a good chance of passing, which in our view would be a crime against human dignity. Regardless of the final vote, Hell’s Kitchen (and Angel Food Bakery) always have and always will truly love, embrace, and supports the right of our GLBT employees, customers, and community to live authentic lives. We’re proud that Minnesotans from all walks of life have always felt at home here, and will continue to work hard on behalf of ideals dear to our hearts. Are you aware of our strong support of Minnesota farmers each and every day, or that we throw open our doors to a different Minnesota charity every Monday night?

In closing, while we’re proud of our damn good food, our extraordinary staff and our truly unique environment, we all believe that what has really made us Minnesota’s busiest restaurant (and one of the most successful independently-owned restaurants in the country) is how active we try to be in the lives of people across our great state.

Warmest personal regards,
The owners and/or founders of Hell’s Kitchen and Angel Food Bakery (Cynthia Gerdes, Mitch Omer, Steve Meyer, Kim Meyer, Tony Perella and Katy Gerdes)

Now there are three simple ways YOU, too, can take action. First, like their page on Facebook. Second, take a moment to express your thanks (send them a note, share the link to this blog post on your wall, etc.). And finally, third, stop on in and say “thank you” with your business (here’s their website in case you need directions).

Thank you, Hell’s Kitchen, for standing up for love and equality.