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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Little Pigs Bar-B-Q’s vintage sign goes back to the early ’60s, but in recent years, it’s become a sign of divided times.
Lately, the Asheville landmark has become the backdrop for cutting and even offensive social media posts.
“It says ‘Trump special’,” Tom Tomlin said, looking of an apparent photo of the iconic local sign. “‘Lyin’ fat pig, barbecue ribs, with orange sauce.'”
However, Little Pig’s co-owner Carr Swicegood says the photo is a flat-out fake.
“Well, I got a call yesterday from Raleigh, someone was upset about it,” he said. “I said, ‘The sign’s been Photoshopped. There’s nothing we can do about it.'”
The photo has been shared hundreds of times, which customer Barbara Styles says is maddening.
“Mercy, these people have run out of anything to do whatsoever!” she remarked.
A concerned News 13 viewer took issue with it in a Facebook message.
“This is an outrage!” Patricia Scarberry wrote. “I don’t care which Party you belong to, this is posted across from Asheville High School where young minds are being formed and are supposed to be taught respect! This disgusts me and a total disrespect for our President.”
The person who shared the meme that Scarberry saw later regretted it. In the Facebook thread, she posted an apology, saying “I am embarrassed that I proliferated a scam.”
News 13 found out that changing the sign and posting it is all too easy. For several years, an online sign generator has allowed users to customize the Little Pigs sign.
Anyone can just log on and type in whatever they want.
“We don’t put stuff like that, whether it’s Democrat or Republican,” Swicegood said.
When News 13 crews were at the barbecue joint on Friday, the sign said “Taking Applications” on one side and “Orders To Go…” on the other.
Other meme examples with fake wording include “Safest restaurant on Earth, no Muslims inside,” and one that reads “Bring any NFL stuff and let us burn it” for a “free sandwich.”
Little Pigs tries to explain the issue, one customer at a time.
“Somebody on the internet world put it out there,” an employee said to a customer. “We got calls from Alaska — Alaska!”
They can only hope loyal customers don’t always believe what they read.
“I think the people that know us and eat in here regularly know that we wouldn’t put something like that up,” Swicegood said. “We can’t take it off the internet, just learn to live with it.”
“Why would anyone want to do this to this nice location that we enjoy?” Styles fumed.
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