Gas Station Upside-Down Flags were a Mistake, Owner Apologizes

The owner of the Bestway gas station at the intersection of Budlong Road and Park and Dyer Avenues said the upside-down flags that appeared outside the business on Wednesday were put there by mistake and apologized for offending anyone.

“We did not make this mistake intentionally. We can’t imagine of hurting the emotions and sentiments of our customers. Today was the grand opening of our location and we were in a hurry to open up. We were really excited and in our excitement, this negligence occurred,” said Iqra Jamil Choudhry. “We realized our mistake and ensure that this kind of behavior would never happen again in future.”

Choudhry said “we are American citizens by birth and we have been living our life here. America is our identity and we can’t imagine disrespecting the country which has made us what we are today.”

The gas station had the flags upside-down for only a brief time Thursday afternoon.

Flying the American Flag upside down is officially recognized as a signal of distress. The federal flag code states that the flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress or in instances of extreme danger to life or property.

Choudhry said he has owned the property for the past eight years and it had been leased for a long time. The recent renovations, which significantly brightened up the building, came about after the former tenant “ran away.”

The tenant didn’t pay four months of rent or notified Choudhry that he was walking away. Now, with the renovations finished, he’s running the business and dealing with the fallout from the flag episode.

“It’s the first time we made such a big mistake,” Choudhry said.

One resident who saw the flags and went inside the store said that the clerk inside laughed when he was told people would be offended by the display.

That clerk is now out of a job.

“I have fired the clerk who laughed, I’m going there by myself to work on this matter,” Choudhry said.

Choudhry said he hopes people find it in their hearts to forgive him.

“I apologize on the behalf of the whole team and hope that you guys would understand that no one would intentionally make such mistake which can compromise their own business,” he said.