Tennessee-based restaurant chain Cracker Barrel announced Sunday that it will resume selling "Duck Dynasty" products, after customers chided the company for halting sale of the merchandise.
The restaurant chain, which currently has 625 locations in 42 states, reneged a previous decision to stop carrying goods inspired by the reality TV show after 67-year-old Phil Robertson made controversial comments about LGBT and black people.
"You wrote, you called, and you took to social media to express your thoughts and feelings. You flat out told us we were wrong. We listened," Cracker Barrel reps wrote on the company's Facebook page, Sunday. "Today, we are putting all our Duck Dynasty products back in our stores. And, we apologize for offending you."
The company first took the merchandise off the shovels after Robertson appeared in an interview with GQ. The reality television patriarch called gay people "homosexual offenders" and likened gay intercourse with bestiality, the Los Angeles Times reported. He also stated that he "never" witnessed black people encountering unfair treatment before the civil-rights era.
"No one was singing the blues," he said at the time.
The show, network A&E and cast came under serious fire following Robertson's comments. Cracker Barrel decided to remove some Duck Commander items from their shelves because of concerns that it "might offend some of our guests."
But just two days later, the restaurant chain put the merchandise back.
"We respect all individuals' right to express their beliefs," the statement concluded. "We certainly did not mean to have anyone think different."
