A San Francisco restaurant begged for forgiveness within 48 hours after kicking out three armed police officers in 2021.
The owner of a Memphis pizza shop just did the same thing – and has zero regrets.
And his father got on social media – and poured gasoline on the fire.
Tamboli's Pizza Turns Away Tennessee National Guard Members
On Saturday night, four uniformed members of the Memphis Safe Task Force walked into Tamboli's Pasta & Pizza on Madison Avenue in Midtown Memphis looking for a meal.
The Task Force is President Trump's multi-agency crime operation – Tennessee National Guard soldiers, U.S. Marshals, and federal agents deployed to Memphis since September 2025 to crush violent crime in one of America's most dangerous cities.
Owner Miles Tamboli had them turned away – and then went public about it.
In his statement, Tamboli called the Task Force an "occupation," invoked the Declaration of Independence, and claimed crime was already falling before the National Guard arrived – and that the Memphis Police Department deserved the credit, not Trump's soldiers.
Then his father stepped in.
Roy Tamboli posted his defense on social media after the story went national: Miles has "respect" for the National Guard, but they are "trained to kill, not to de-escalate." That is why, Roy explained, they had no business sitting at his son's tables.
Four soldiers tried to get dinner after a shift, got turned away, and now have Roy Tamboli on record calling them trained killers who deserved it.
Memphis Safe Task Force Crime Numbers the Left Doesn't Want You to See
The Memphis Safe Task Force has logged more than 10,000 arrests, seized more than 1,700 illegal firearms, and located 154 missing children since operations began.
Violent crime in Memphis is down more than 40 percent in 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to Memphis Police Department data reported by Fox News. Murders are down 44 percent.
In January 2026 alone, violence and property crimes – homicide, rape, robbery, burglary, larceny, and car theft – dropped 48 percent year-over-year.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi visited Memphis in November 2025 and put the early numbers on the record: murder down 48 percent, sexual assault down 49 percent, robbery down 61 percent after just 56 days of the federal surge.
"Tolerating crime is a choice," Bondi said. "This administration chooses law and order."
President Trump came to Memphis in March to tour the results. The White House called them "undeniable."
National Police Association spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith told Fox News the operation is "a blueprint for other cities around the nation."
The San Francisco restaurant that refused the cops in 2021 – Hilda and Jesse – issued a full apology after two days of one-star reviews and public shaming. The owners met with police at a local precinct and begged forgiveness.
Tamboli responded to the backlash by shutting down the restaurant's phone lines and declaring the criticism "confirms why this matters." His district attorney, Steve Mulroy – himself in a legal fight with Tennessee over the Task Force – jumped into the restaurant's social media comments to drop a "Great place!"
Mulroy is suing to block state oversight of his office while cheerleading for restaurants that bar the soldiers enforcing Trump's order. Memphis Democrats have picked a side.
The Organized Left-Wing Network Behind the Memphis National Guard Boycott
Tamboli's is not acting alone. Months before Saturday's incident, the owner signed onto a public pledge with other Midtown Memphis businesses to refuse service to Task Force members. The pledge is organized under Free the 901, an activist network that runs boycott and support lists based on businesses' positions toward the deployment.
The Sammich Spot made headlines earlier this year for the same refusal.
Nobody organized this by accident. Memphis's left-wing opposition to the Task Force is coordinated and cheered on by the city's top prosecutor.
Four soldiers walked into a restaurant after a shift and were told to leave. Memphis is safer because they showed up anyway – and no pizza shop owner is going to change that.
His father can post whatever he wants. The National Guard will keep showing up. And Tamboli's Pasta & Pizza will keep justifying to its customers why the men keeping Memphis safe deserve to eat somewhere else.
- Adam Sabes, "Memphis Violent Crime Drops Over 40% After Trump Task Force Was Launched," Fox News, April 23, 2026.
- "Memphis Safe Task Force Surpasses 10,000 Arrests, Removes More Than 1,700 Firearms from City Streets," U.S. Marshals Service, June 10, 2026.
- "President Trump's Memphis Safe Task Force Delivers Crushing Blow to Crime," White House, March 23, 2026.
- Henry Riche, "Pizza Parlor Owner Says Memphis Is Safer Without National Guard, Refuses to Serve Them," Daily Caller, July 15, 2026.
- "Midtown Restaurant Owner Stands by Decision to Refuse Service to Guardsmen," WREG, July 15, 2026.
- "Bondi: Task Force Causes Dramatic Drop in Memphis Crime," WREG, November 25, 2025.
- Scott Stump, "San Francisco Restaurant Apologizes After Refusing to Serve Cops Because of Their Guns," TODAY, December 6, 2021.
