Denver Coffee Shop’s 'Gentrifying' Sign Sparks Fury, Prompts Boycott Calls

An American coffee shop chain apologized Wednesday for a sidewalk sign, which displayed a message that appeared to celebrate the gentrification of a historically black neighborhood.

The sandwich board read: “Happily Gentrifying The Neighborhood Since 2014.” On the other side it stated: “Nothing Says Gentrification Like Being Able To Order A Cortado.”

Social media users were quick to react with outrage to the board advertising ink! Coffee situated in Denver, Colorado. The store in question is located in the Five Points neighborhood, which was once known as the "Harlem of the West" and has been traditionally home to artists and people of color. The neighborhod has been evolving steadily and becoming white and middle-to-upper-class, due to gentrification.

There have been numerous calls for customers to boycott the store and the company, which has 16 shops across the capital city and Aspen. ​

The founder of ink! Coffee later issued the following statement Wednesday apologizing for the sign:

"I have been following the comments on social media and listening to our customers, and I want you to know that I hear you. I have used the last 24 hours to listen to your perspectives, and to better educate myself on gentrification. I am embarrassed to say that I did not fully appreciate the very real and troubling issue of gentrification, and I want to sincerely apologize to those who understand firsthand the hardship and cultural consequences that gentrification has caused in the Five Points neighborhood, throughout the City and County of Denver and in communities throughout our state."

Read the full statement here.

“My first reaction was, ‘Is this real?’ because it’s just so mind blowing,” Ru Johnson, a local writer told the Denver Post.

“Their sign was almost like a poke in the eye for the people who have worked to make the community what it is, and a lot of those people have been pushed out," Johnson said. "Who created this sign, sent it to manufacture and put in outside your business?”

Hundreds of users rushed to criticize and express outrage towards ink! Coffee on Facebook, Twitter and Yelp.

“Doesn't even deserve the single star,” wrote one reviewer on Yelp, according to Fox News. “They're proud of their blatant racism and disregard for the local community.”

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) also severely criticized ink! Coffee.

“Your sign referenced above has been flagged as mocking of and hurtful to those, especially African Americans and other (People of Color), who have been forced to surrender their homes and businesses to deep pocket gentrification efforts in Denver’s central/downtown communities,” Rosemary Lytle, president of the NAACP’s Colorado, Montana, Wyoming State Conference, wrote in an email obtained by the Denver Post.

In a series of emails, tweets and Facebook posts Wednesday afternoon, the company repeatedly apologized for the sign.

"We clearly drank too much of our own product and lost sight of what makes our community great,” the company said on its official Twitter account. “Our (bad) joke was never meant to offend our vibrant and diverse community.”