A restaurant owner has been slammed for his "distasteful" 9/11-themed bar, but says he is happy to "lose a few customers" over it.
Brent Thompson, who runs Bar 9Eleven in Fort Worth, Texas, named after the devastating terrorist attack.
It sparked outrage on Twitter after someone took a photo of the pub's exterior and shared it on social media.
Jesse Tyler posted the image, along with several others, saying: "Drove by this bar and thought: 'Huh I wonder what that's about.'
"Turns out it's about exactly what you think."
Mr Thompson told the New York Post he "gets" that "it's a sensitive subject" – but insists that he never intended to offend anyone.
He said: "I may lose a few customers on this. If you don't have all the facts, you're probably going to have a negative reaction."
Mr Thompson said the naming of the restaurant is not a publicity stunt but claimed it is a meaningful title for him.
He said he had been preparing for the opening of his first restaurant the day of 9/11 in 2001, which took the lives of nearly 3,000 people in a series of coordinated terrorist attacks.
His first-day nerves quickly turned to fear as he waited to hear from his daughter, who had been on a flight that morning, and his brother-in-law, an American Airlines pilot.
He decided to rename the bar from its previous name 'Charlie's Bar' after learning that a "high percentage" of Americans didn't know that the anniversary of the shocking event was approaching.
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As well as the name, the bar also features a timeline of the tragic day's events.
Mr Thompson said: "I don’t want anyone who comes into my restaurant to forget that day."
The bar owner was met with criticism online.
Mr Tyler, who posted the original pictures, later added: "Blown away by this work of creative nonfiction depicting the owner of a Tex Mex restaurant in north Texas as the main character of our nation's darkest day."
One user replied: "Holy s*** that's… well, not bad, but tone deaf?"
Another said: "This is one of most bizarre things I’ve seen in a while."
But Mr Thompson said business is booming thanks to his loyal customers, claiming that "80% of our business comes from 20% of our customers".
This September marks the 20th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack in history.
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