White powder is mailed to Pizza Patrón restaurant in Fort Worth

White powder, later determined to be harmless, was sent to Pizza Patrón restaurants in Fort Worth and Georgia on Tuesday -- the same day that the national pizza chain launched a controversial promotion giving free pepperoni pizzas to customers who order in Spanish.

Shortly before 2 p.m., the owner/manager of the Pizza Patrón at 301 NW 28th St. brought an envelope containing white powder to the Fort Worth Police Department, prompting police to alert the Fire Department.

An analysis determined that the powder was Sheetrock dust, Fire Capt. M.R. Skains said.

Andy Gamm, brand director for Dallas-based Pizza Patrón, said that hours before the Fort Worth incident, he learned that an envelope containing white powder had also been mailed to a restaurant in Atlanta. That owner also took the envelope to police, and authorities quickly determined that it was ceramic tile powder, Gamm said.

Gamm said he has no doubt that the stores were targeted because of the national Spanish-order promotion.

"Obviously it's an easy way to disrupt what's going on at the stores," he said. "This becomes the story. It becomes what people talk about rather than the promotion. No question it's deliberate. We've got our eyes and ears open right now to hear about any more situations like that."

Gamm said the company has received some criticism since announcing the pizza promotion.

"We've got lots of phone calls, a lot of e-mails," he said. "We've even got a few handwritten love letters people put in the mail. I didn't know people wrote letters anymore."

Gamm said the company has no regrets.

"It doesn't change our focus on what we're doing," he said. "We still think this promotion is a good idea. We don't apologize for it at all."

Gamm said the 26-year-old company had always focused on providing a uniquely Hispanic experience.

"When we create a promotion, it's always designed to strengthen the relations we have with our Hispanic customers," he said. "About 70 percent of our customers are Hispanic."

Gamm said employees will coach non-Spanish-speaking customers on ordering their pizza so they can get the deal, too.

"We're always trying to strengthen and resonate with our core customers. In this case, we thought it would be fun to reach out and create a bridge to non-Hispanics who live in the neighborhood," he said.

Gamm said he has alerted other franchisees about the two incidents and instructed employees not to open any mail.

"We've got to take it seriously as with anything," he said. "I hope the motivation is to disrupt and there isn't anything serious in any of these envelopes. I hope we don't find any more. I'm most concerned for people at the stores who just show up to make pizza and have to deal with things like that."

Skains, supervisor of the Fire Department's hazardous material team, said that firefighters sporadically respond to calls involving suspicious powder but that the powder is rarely harmful.