MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – A Midtown Memphis restaurant owner is defending his decision to deny service to National Guard members working as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force.
Miles Tamboli, the owner of Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza, confirmed reports of the decision Wednesday.
Under state and federal law, it is legal for private businesses to refuse service based on customers’ occupations. The Civil Rights Act does, however, prohibit the refusal of service based on other factors such as race, religion, disability, or age.
Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza opened in late 2019 on Madison Avenue in Midtown Memphis.(WMC)
Tamboli told Action News 5 that he and his business have received responses from the community filled with “hatred and vitriol.”
He declined an interview but issued a statement explaining the decision:
On Saturday night we declined to serve four uniformed members of the Memphis Safe Task Force, and I stand behind that decision completely.
I love this country and I love this city, and that is exactly why I made this call. I want Memphis to be safe. Every business owner does. And the honest truth is that Memphis was already getting safer before this Task Force ever arrived. Crime was at a 25-year low through the first eight months of 2025, according to the Memphis Police Department’s own data, later confirmed by an independent Tennessee Bureau of Investigation audit. That progress was earned by the people of this city. It was not delivered by soldiers.
What the Task Force has actually done is make this city harder to live in. Its own records show that the overwhelming majority of its arrests began with routine traffic stops, not violent crime. Families in this city are now afraid to drive to work, afraid to take their kids to school, afraid to be seen. Our own schools reported that fear drove children to stop showing up to class. And this month a 20-year-old Memphian named Tyrin Johnson was shot and killed by National Guard troops during a foot chase, with no body camera footage and no answers for his family. None of that makes us safer. It makes us less safe, and it does the most damage to the people who were already struggling.
Being pro-safety means telling the truth about what actually protects a community, and it is not soldiers trained for combat doing the work of police officers. That mismatch is dangerous for the people of Memphis and dangerous for the troops themselves, who were sent here to do a job they were never trained for. The founders wrote their objection to standing armies among the people into the Declaration of Independence itself, because they understood that a free country does not let the military police its own citizens. That principle is older than any political party, and I am not willing to abandon it because it became inconvenient.
Months ago I joined dozens of other local businesses in a public commitment to stand against the military policing our streets, an act of patriotism and conscience both, and I would make the same decision tomorrow.
He said his refusal was not directed at the individual Guard members themselves, but at the National Guard’s presence in Memphis.
He says the National Guard has made Memphis harder to live in.
“I love this country and I love this city, and that is exactly why I made this call,” Tamboli’s statement said. “What the task force has actually done is make this city harder to live in.”
Tamboli also referenced the recent killing of Tyrin Johnson, who was shot and killed by National Guard troops, according to the TBI.
Since the incident, the business has faced backlash and calls for boycotting. But Tamboli’s has also seen an influx of support from the community, including from District Attorney Steve Mulroy, who commented “great place!” on a Tuesday post featuring a menu item.
Memphis restaurant owner defends denying service to National Guard members(Facebook)
Customers at Tamboli’s on Wednesday who spoke with Action News 5 said backing businesses that reflect their values matters.
“I would like to support them because they are standing up to the unlawful occupation of Memphis, I would say,” one customer told Action News 5.
Another customer said, “A business has a right to refuse or provide service to whoever they wish, and we are in support of the Memphis community as a whole, and this is a great restaurant. We just feel like it is our job to support the things we think are right.”
State Representative John Gillespie (R-Memphis) posted to social media Wednesday, saying he is against Tamboli’s turning away the National Guard:
Tamboli’s is not the first business to deny service to the Memphis Safe Task Force. The Sammich Spot also gained headlines after refusing service to task force members earlier this year.
Tamboli said a group of businesses is taking a “public commitment to stand against the military policing our streets, an act of patriotism.”
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