An upmarket restaurant in Portland has faced a violent backlash after seating a group of white supremacists.

Police were called twice to Clarklewis, an LGBTQ+-owned restaurant in the Central Eastside, on Sunday after protesters confronted the diners and restaurant staff.

The restaurant said its staff had no idea about the group’s alleged political affiliations when they arrived for a private brunch.

Joe Rogers, the owner, told KOIN 6 News that the group had booked the private brunch under a generic-sounding group name.

Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner said officers first responded at approximately 2pm to reports of a disturbance at the restaurant in the 1000 block of SE Water Avenue.

Police said that when officers arrived they found a handful of people protesting another group that was dining at the establishment.

Speculation online has linked the damage to Antifa activists, though no suspects have been identified by officials. The Daily Mail reached out to local Antifa activists and the police for comment.

At that point, police said there was no reported damage or injuries, and officers cleared the scene.

But the situation quickly escalated. ‘About 20 minutes later, a couple dozen demonstrators returned and broke at least one window at the restaurant and then they fled,’ cops said in a statement reported by KOIN 6 News.

Cops said that, with the assistance of air support, officers attempted to locate those responsible but were unable to find them.

The controversy began after a flyer circulated online appearing to promote an event featuring prominent white nationalist figures, including Jared Taylor, editor of the far-right magazine American Renaissance.

Images of the flyer do not appear to show where it was scheduled to take place.

Local Antifa activists claimed they discovered the event was to take place at Clarklewis.

Photographs taken by a protester appeared to show a group of men dining on the restaurant’s patio.

Several were wearing suits, while some appeared to be sporting T-shirts featuring messaging associated with white nationalism.

According to co-owner Joe Rogers, the restaurant had been completely unaware of the group’s alleged connections. ‘Nobody was paying attention to what their T-shirt said,’ Rogers told KOIN 6 News.

He said the group had booked the private brunch using a name that gave restaurant staff no reason to suspect anything unusual.

‘We don’t know who’s walking through the door,’ Rogers said. ‘And sure, if they walk in and they’re awful, and they’re obviously somebody that’s not going to be kind to our staff or to other guests, we’re going to ask them to leave.’

Rogers made clear that the restaurant does not support white nationalism and said staff would not knowingly host a group with those beliefs.

Rogers said one female employee quit on the spot after the confrontation, while other staff members left for the rest of the day.

The restaurant was subsequently closed for Sunday night’s dining service. A private wedding event for a former employee scheduled for later that evening was canceled.

The brunch group later reimbursed the restaurant $2,000, Rogers said. Rather than keep the money, the restaurant plans to donate it back into the community as a gesture of goodwill.

The restaurant was still dealing with the repercussions when press crews arrived late Sunday afternoon.

Protesters were present outside but declined to give interviews. It was unclear whether those individuals had been involved in the earlier property damage.

Rogers said the business cannot realistically investigate the political beliefs of every customer who walks through its doors.

‘We don’t know,’ he said. ‘We don’t know who’s walking through the door.’