A Murrells Inlet fast food restaurant has been receiving negative attention after someone apparently hoisted a Confederate flag on the restaurant’s pole outside.

The flag had been flying on the pole outside Wendy’s, 1305 Tadlock Drive, for about three hours Sunday before the general manager was notified by a customer. General Manager Mikey Ashworth said that when he came into work about 6 a.m. the flag was not on the pole.

Ashworth said he normally does a walk around the building to make sure everything is OK. He said there has not been a flag on the pole since he began working about three months ago.

“As soon as I found out ... I immediately took it down and threw it in the trash,” Ashworth said.

Ashworth said he’s not sure who put the flag up. He said it is easy to access the hooks that are on the pole.

Ashworth said he is upset that the flag was placed on the pole and that it was not an employee who did it.

The flag is regarded as a sign of racism, symbolizing the Confederacy during the Civil War which fought to maintain slavery in America.