Just in case, Edgar Antillon stocked up on extra food and brought in additional staff Thursday for his barbecue restaurant’s first-ever White Appreciation Day.

It turns out that was a wise decision. He said Friday that business tripled at the Rubbin Buttz BBQ in Milliken as a result of the publicity surrounding the event, which started as a joke but ended up as a statement against racial division and in favor of American unity.

“I honestly didn’t think it was going to be busy,” Antillon said Thursday as he and his eight-member crew scrambled to keep up with the lunch crowd. “I thought it was going to be a non-event. I was wrong, so I’m glad we did prepare for it.”

He and restaurant co-owner Miguel Jiminez are both of Mexican descent, but, “I’m not part of a Hispanics-only club, I’m not part of a Latinos-only club,” Antillon said.

“I’m part of an American club, and that’s what we’re part of, the United States of America,” he said.

Many of Thursday’s customers, who received 10 percent off their tabs no matter their race, credited the restaurant’s owners for what they described as a clever marketing strategy, although Antillon admitted even he was surprised by the reaction.

“I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t know something was going to happen. I knew something was going to come of it, but I didn’t think it was going to be this major,” Antillon said. “I didn’t think it was going to be this huge.”

The event was heaped with both praise and criticism on social media after it was announced last month with a sign on the eatery’s front window. Some opponents accused Antillon and his co-owner Miguel Jiminez of racism, even though both are of Mexican descent.

Customers who packed the restaurant Thursday rejected the charges and defended the owners.

“I don’t think it’s racist at all. The owner’s not white,” said Ryan Flynn of Johnstown. “He’s just trying to make it equal for everyone.”

As a precaution, a bomb-sniffing police dog combed the restaurant and the surrounding area before Rubbin Buttz opened Thursday, due to past bomb threats and death threats.

The Milliken Police Department kept a heightened presence near the restaurant’s location on Broad Street, the town’s main drag, and also brought in reinforcements from the Colorado Mounted Rangers, said police chief Benito Garcia.

Threats of an anti-White Appreciation Day demonstration failed to pan out. No protesters appeared, and Antillon said he received “all positive feedback . . . not a single negative comment” from customers.

“I think more people are understanding why we’re doing this and that our intentions are true intentions behind this,” Antillon said. “I honestly do think people are getting it.”

Steve Adams of Aurora and his friend Art Babic of Denver said he had never heard of the Rubbin Buttz before the publicity surrounding White Appreciation Day, but he made a point of turning out Thursday in order to support the owners.

“It’s nice to know someone else doesn’t think that we’re the enemy,” said Adams. “I understand this is Hispanic-owned. I grew up with Hispanic people. We’re all the same. It’s only in more recent years that you’ve got to get everybody separated.”

He added, “So if this is bringing everybody together, it’s a good thing.”

Steve Walls of Cheyenne presented Antillon with a framed photo of a military color guard as a show of support.

“I didn’t like that they would threaten him,” Walls said, adding that political correctness “is not doing anything for us as a nation except destroying us. We’ve gone too far with PC.”

Susannah Williams of Milliken wiped a tear from her eye as she described the social-media criticism over the event, which included comments such as, “Every day is White Appreciation Day.”

“It bugged me because this is our town. And we love our town and our people,” she said.

Antillon is no stranger to political controversy. A certified NRA firearms instructor, he’s been active in Colorado supporting the Second Amendment and holds free concealed-carry classes statewide through his group Guns for Everyone.

Still, despite the success of Thursday’s event, Antillon said as of Friday he has no plans to hold another White Appreciation Day. Although regular customer Jarron Cito, who received 10 percent off his Hillbilly Philly, said he certainly wouldn’t mind.

Said Cito, “I think it’s pretty cool.”

— valrichardson17@gmail.com