Cape Cod restaurant hit with threats and fall in business after hosting Republican fundraiser

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A Cape Cod restaurateur says he has faced online harassment and a drastic drop in business since hosting a fundraiser for two Republican candidates.

Ed Medeiros, who has owned Montano’s Restaurant in Truro, Massachusetts, since 2024, said he has received threatening messages and seen sales fall by more than half following the September 16 event for gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue and congressional candidate Tyler Macallister.

“People have been bashing me. People stopped coming. They’ve been saying really bad things, like, ‘I hope your restaurant burns down,’” Medeiros told Boston.com.

“I’ve had a couple of personal threats by different people: ‘I’ll come down there and see you anytime,’” he added. “I said, ‘Oh, OK, let me know when, and I’ll be there.’ Because obviously, I’m not going to run away from people that are toxic.”

The Independent has contacted Montano’s Restaurant for more information.

Medeiros, who called himself an “inclusive individual,” told the outlet that he agreed to host the fundraiser to boost business during the Cape’s slower season, but emphasized that he did not endorse Minogue or Macallister.

The restaurant promoted the event with a fundraising flyer and donation link that remains posted on several social media accounts. In a comment under the post, the restaurant added that hosting the private event did not constitute an endorsement of the views or beliefs of those who reserved the space.

“Politics are politics, but I’m a restaurant,” Medeiros told Boston.com. “You’re not going to say ‘no’ to someone saying, ‘Hey, I’m bringing 80 people over to spend money at your restaurant. What do you say?’”

Two days after the fundraiser, Medeiros said a hoax 911 call reporting a missing person in the woods behind Montano’s disrupted the restaurant’s Friday night dinner rush.

The report was unfounded after an extensive search involving first responders from multiple agencies, Truro police said in a September 24 news release.

“In the days since, the Town of Truro was made aware of social media discussions concerning the missing person call on September 18, 2026, and a prior political fundraiser. The investigation did not reveal any evidentiary connections between the two events,” police added in a statement Thursday.

Medeiros told Boston.com Wednesday it didn’t matter whether the incidents were actually connected as the presence of emergency crews outside the restaurant just before dinner service was enough to hurt business.

“I winded up doing less than half of what I normally do on a Friday night, and then that whole weekend was a bust and we’ve been down more than 50 percent of what we normally do since,” he said.

Medeiros said the backlash has also affected his staff, with some employees now afraid to come to work. He also fears for his family’s safety in and around Truro.

The financial impact of the fallout could also be significant, he said. Montano’s relies on revenue from September through December to carry the business through the slower winter months, when tourism drops and many Cape Cod businesses close for the season.

Despite the concerns, Medeiros said the restaurant’s social media pages have recently received an outpouring of support, and he hopes those supporters will visit Montano’s in person.

The restaurant has also received backing from prominent Massachusetts Republicans, including U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton and Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Amy Carnevale.

“What happened to Montano’s is not politics. It is intimidation of a small business, and it is a dangerous waste of emergency resources,” Deaton said in a statement, Boston.com reported.

Carnevale said the party is calling for a full investigation into the missing-person report and the alleged threats against Montano’s.

“Charge the people who did this. And every elected official who lectures the country about democracy should say, without hedging, that a small business may host any lawful political event without being punished for it,” she said, per the outlet. “If that principle only applies when Democrats are in the room, it is not a principle. It is a racket.”