U.S. | Fri Sep 16, 2016 | 11:45am EDT

Texas mattress store to reopen after 9/11 ad ignites criticism

By Jon Herskovitz | AUSTIN, TEXAS

The Texas mattress store that shut its doors after being pilloried for a social media ad where staff used bedding to stage a mock collapse of New York City's Twin Towers to promote a Sept. 11 sale has decided to reopen.

"We believe our best path forward is to reopen as soon as possible, following the hiring of new staff and training," Mike Bonanno, the owner of Miracle Mattress in San Antonio, wrote in a Facebook post late on Thursday. He again apologized for the ad, which he described as offensive and disrespectful.

The ad referred to the 15th anniversary of four hijacked planes' attacks, the worst on U.S. soil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.

No date was given for when the store will reopen, but a few people on social media called for it to remain shut. Many said the owner should at least to fire store manager, Cherise Bonanno, whom San Antonio media say is his daughter and who was featured in the ad.

"If she stays, Miracle Mattress will not have learned a thing," Jan William posted on the company's Facebook page.

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