Michele Bachmann is set to kick off her tour of the Sunshine State tomorrow; the presidential hopeful’s first stop will be in Jacksonville Beach, for a visit at Angie’s Sub Shop. Angie’s is a casual haunt more often visited by surfers than politicians, but its owner, Ed Malin, is a staunch conservative and a member of the tea party.
Malin raised eyebrows last year by posting a sign outside his restaurant that read: “Bible thumpin’, gun totin’ capitalist pig owns this joint.” The sign created somewhat of a stir in the beachside community, and even made it to Fox News.
The interior of Angie’s Subs might at first glance look like a college dorm room, with posters and mismatched chairs and tables, but upon closer inspection, Malin’s tea party leanings are sprinkled throughout. One TripAdvisor reviewer once said of the restaurant, “I’m buying a sub, not a Tea Party rally,” while another titled his review “Angie’s Republican Subs with a Side of Tea…Party.”
Indeed, tea party rallies have actually been held at the sub shop, and Malin himself spoke during a large rally held last year in St. Augustine — alongside notable names like then-candidates Rick Scott, Pam Bondi and Marco Rubio.
First Coast Tea Party members will be hosting Bachmann, though the group hasn’t yet called it an endorsement.
Following her Jacksonville visit, Bachmann will make her way around the state, ending up in Sarasota on Sunday.
