ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — UPDATE: 9 p.m., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 – In an interview with 828newsNOW earlier today, Friday, Feb. 7, Montford Deli owner David Sweeting apologized for comments made about Anne Frank that generated controversy earlier this week.
Over the course of the interview, an “embarrassed and appalled of myself” Sweeting addressed anyone he had hurt with his comments.
“I want to apologize to the Asheville community, I want to apologize to Mother Ocean, I want to apologize to Asheville Foodies and all the other people that’ve been getting bashed because of my stupidity,” Sweeting began.
Sweeting said that as a 9th grade dropout, he had never heard the story of Anne Frank. After witnessing the hurt caused by his remarks, Sweeting decided to change that.
“I bought the book yesterday,” Sweeting said. “I went into Barnes & Noble. I said, hey man, where is this book at? And they were like, it’s in the burned, banned book area, and I was like, burned, banned book area? What do you mean? They were like, these books were literally being burnt because they didn’t want you to know the atrocities that truly happened.”
The revelation brought Sweeting to tears. He returned home and started reading.
“Man, it’s heart wrenching. It is heart wrenching,” Sweeting said. “I truly, truly, truly am sorry to everybody that I’ve hurt. The only thing I can do is try to do better. That’s the only thing I can do. I can only try try to do better. I can’t force anybody to say, oh, yeah, okay, fine, it’s all good. I understand not everybody’s gonna understand this.”
Sweeting also explained his thought process in the moment of the remarks.
“I said it two years prior, man, and nobody every made me accountable for it. So, I didn’t even realize then, it was just a play on words, I thought. And it was the worst play on words a man or woman could ever do and I understand that,” Sweeting said. “I am so embarrassed and appalled at myself, but there’s no way I can fix it. It’s already done, and I just want to apologize to this community, and you and everybody.”
Sweeting has pledged to find ways to benefit the Jewish community in Asheville moving forward.
“I will give every person that is a survivor of the Holocaust a free meal for the rest of my life at this restaurant,” Sweeting said. “I will definitely stand up to that word. I will feed any Holocaust survivors for the rest of my life.”
He also said he was looking into a book club for “The Diary of Anne Frank” and invites any member of the Jewish community to sit down for a conversation at Montford Deli.
“I’d love to be able to know exactly everything because I know knowledge is power,” Sweeting said. “It was all terrible, absolutely freaking terrible, but I will tell you this, sir. I was an ignorant man and uneducated until this week, and I’m sorry.”
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Local sandwich shop Montford Deli caused an online outcry earlier this week after posting a comment comparing Holocaust victim Anne Frank to a pork sandwich.
Montford Deli is located at 1461 Merrimon Ave. just beyond Beaver Lake.
On Monday, Feb. 3, Montford Deli posted a picture of their Monday special on Facebook. The sandwich post itself was innocuous, advertising “a sizzling deal” on a fried pork tenderloin sandwich.
Underneath, however, Montford Deli commented “It’s the dank that killed Anne Frank boom,” a remark that has led to intense community backlash.
Anne Frank was a victim of the Holocaust. She died sometime in March 1945 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after contracting typhus fever.
The Montford Deli comment echoed a similar remark made by the sandwich shop two years prior, shared by Redditor u/86inbinary under a thread about the Feb. 3 incident.
Under a Facebook post made by Mother Ocean Seafood Market, Montford Deli noted, “That looks like the dank that killed Anne Frank” before going on to praise the lobster claw meat at the market.
At 5:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5, Mother Ocean responded to the resurgent comment with a Facebook post.
“Let it be known that everyone at Mother Ocean has deep respect for the Jewish community in this country and around the world. We believe that our differences are our biggest strength, and our multiculturalism is our most beautiful trait,” the Mother Ocean post read.
“Regarding the cringeworthy comment that was made on one of our posts a few years ago: In general, when someone compliments our sandwiches, our go-to response is a polite “thank you.” One particularly odd and hateful line in the comment slipped past our radar, but we will be more attuned to hate speech in the future and make sure to report it.”
For its part, at 3:57 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, Montford Deli commented underneath a screenshot of the since-deleted Anne Frank comment.
“I was honestly just trying to say the sandwich was good. I truly I’m sorry anybody that I’ve hurt. I did not mean to so please I ask you to forgive me. I’m human I am,” the comment read. “Very apologetic.”
At 10:05 a.m. earlier that day, Feb. 4, the deli posted “The other day I posted a comment regarding a sandwich, stating it was really good, albeit in an unfavorable manner; I hope everyone will forgive me and I assure it will not happen again.”
“I apologize for my previous comment about the sandwich. I didn’t mean to make anti-somatic jokes and I’m truly sorry for my ignorance. I promise to be more thoughtful in the future,” Montford Deli replied at 3:01 p.m. in another comment underneath their post.
The apology garnered more than 120 comments.
At 7:23 p.m. on Feb. 4, Montford Deli owner David Sweeting posted another apology:
“Dear Asheville community, I am deeply sorry for my recent comment about Anne Frank, which was truly insensitive. I am also very sorry for posting something that would cause harm to so many. When I made the comment, I did not process at the time the harm it could cause, and I now realize that my attempt at a play on words was shameful and for that I am again sorry. I want to assure you that I am not antisemitic, and my enthusiasm for the sandwich led to me texting without thinking. I am committed to learning from this experience, to doing better in the future, and to being more thoughtful in my communications. I understand that my apology may not change everyone’s views, but I am dedicated to making things right. Sincerely, David at Montford Deli.”
Montford Deli declined to respond to an 828newsNOW request for comment.
