As they prepared to open their business, Indianapolis business partners Tony Jones and Sami Ali received a nasty message through their mail slot.

"Close shop! We don't support black business owners!" read the message scribbled in black marker.

Jones is unbothered by the message.

"It doesn't hurt. It doesn't hurt us at all," Jones told WTHR. "The way it affects us, it motivates us to reach out and do what we had been doing to bring people together."

The message had the opposite effect on the community; some now say they will go out of their way to patronize the business.

"You are not welcome. Your thoughts are not welcome," said resident Beth Droste-Glowinski. "You need to find somewhere else to be. This is not where you belong."

"It's a pretty eclectic group of people that are pretty colorful," Heidi Gerdts said of the community. "We came here because we felt everyone is kind of accepted."

Ali believes the note was a blessing in disguise.

"If he was in front of me," Ali said, "I would tell him thank you."

The duo's business, Level UP Gaming Lounge, has a gaming tournament scheduled on July 14 for anyone who wants to show some support.

Level UP Gaming Lounge

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