PEORIA – Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson recently paid a visit to Jim’s Steak House.
The longtime Peoria restaurant shared a photo of staff standing next to Carlson. It said he, along with others, visited during a wedding rehearsal dinner.
“It was a beautiful night full of family, friends, and love,” the business wrote.
Jim’s manager Kristin Comfort said Carlson was courteous to staff while he was there on Friday, Sept. 5.
“He was very pleasant,” she said. “He was very polite, very happy to be here. (He) enjoyed himself.”
Post draws mixed reviews on social media
The post drew both support and scorn on social media. One Facebook commenter described Carlson as “one of the greats.” While many expressed excitement over the visit, others criticized the restaurant.
Morton business FemmeCare Health & Wellness left a comment stating: “Ah yes, nothing screams ‘family, friends, and love’ quite like platforming a man who profits off division, bigotry, and fear. Wild choice to celebrate love by honoring hate. Gross.”
Carlson is a political commentator whose Tucker Carlson Network features video highlights including “The Shocking Link Between Immigration and the Destruction of the Middle Class – Explained” and “The Connection Between SSRIs and School Shootings Explained.” The website’s most recent video – for members only – is titled “Bill Gates, Truth About Vaccines, & Big Pharma’s Plot to Destroy Doctors Who Question ‘The Science.’” A Sept. 7 post on Carlson’s Facebook page notes: “Is Pete Buttigieg Really Gay?”
In response to one Facebook comment stating Jim’s was “dead to me,” the restaurant responded by saying: “All parties are always welcome at Jims Steakhouse. We appreciate everyone’s business.”
‘We welcome everybody’
Comfort reiterated this stance in an interview with the Journal Star. She said Jim’s Steak House has welcomed everyone for generations and will continue to do that.
“We want everybody comfortable here. We welcome everybody and anybody,” Comfort said. “We’re neutral. We’re going to remain neutral, and that’s just how it’s going to stand down here. So, I don’t, you know, we don’t turn anybody away and we never will.”
Comfort said Jim’s Steak House works to post about any well-known individual who visits the establishment.
Since the post, however, she said the restaurant has received a couple of fake negative reviews. She said, “it’s unfortunate that people are willing to do that over a picture.”
While politics seemed to be at the center of social media debate, Jim’s Steak House has hosted political figures from across the ideological spectrum. Comfort said politicians including Aaron Schock, Cheri Bustos, Dick Durbin, Tammy Duckworth, Rod Blagojevich and Rudy Giuliani have dined at the restaurant.
“We have had many politicians in – of all parties,” Comfort said. “And we post every one of them that we can.”
Jim’s Steak House has welcomed many well-known visitors over the years. Comedy icon Chevy Chase, for example, dined at the downtown destination last December. Longtime journalist Larry King, who passed away in 2021, has an autographed photo on the wall at Jim’s.
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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Downtown Peoria restaurant sees support and scorn over photo of former Fox News host
Reporting by Cassidy Waigand, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
