Three Michigan Coffee Shops Forced to Close After Receiving Threatening Letters #DetroitFood
The Detroit and Lansing-based cafes are described as “queer-identified” coffee shops
At least three Michigan-based coffee shops described as queer-identified have reported receiving threatening and hateful letters in the past week, forcing them to close temporarily for the safety of employees and guests. Gathering Coffee Co. in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction area reopened on Wednesday, March 1, after sharing in an Instagram post published late last week that the shop received a 10-page letter that included “dates and threats of potential harm,” prompting the cafe to shutter until the stated threats had passed.
Strange Matter Coffee, with two locations in Lansing, posted a similar announcement on Tuesday, February 28, followed by a post on Wednesday, March 1, shared more details about the contents of the letter it received — including that the ownership believes that the business was targeted because of a Pride flag on display — and said that the cafes would remain closed until reopening on Friday, March 3. “Initially when we received this letter, we were only aware of two other locations that had received it. All queer owned, or flying a pride flag. Since our original post other businesses have contacted us with similar letter experiences from the same author,” Wednesday’s statement read.
The post went on to urge other businesses to notify their local FBI office if they have also received a letter.
According to the Gathering Instagram post, the east side coffee shop received a 10-page letter one Tuesday, February 21, that included “dates and threats of potential harm,” prompting the cafe to shutter until the stated dates had passed. The shop organized a GoFundMe campaign to help offset lost wages and loss of sales, which so far, has raised more than $7,400.
“Due to the nature of this letter, out of protection for our team and for you, our community, we have decided to close our doors for the next week, until these dates have passed. This decision will give us time to implement new safety protocols as we seek to re-open our doors, and will not do so, until these protocols are put into place,” reads the social media post.
Meanwhile at Strange Matter, the company shared that it also received a 10-page letter, postmarked more than two weeks ago, that also contained specific dates, hateful images, and threatening phrases — all of which caused enough concern to close.
“While it seems reasonable that we were singled out due to our Pride flag, along with the other businesses, we have no evidence to directly suggest the author[‘]s motives. We just know how the letter made us feel and what the symbols and words encompass. The letter we received was extremely antisemitic, but again, our letter provided no specific or direct threat. The ramblings included some close dates in March that made us uncomfortable. The dates did not indicate any specific threat. There were many dates past and future scribbled all over the 10 pages. Considering how endemic violence and hate are, we decided to err on the side of extreme caution and shut down for a few days,” Wednesday’s statement says.
Lansing Police Public Information Officer Jordan Gulkis told the Lansing State Journal that police confirmed the authenticity of the letter and are investigating, adding that the letter was handed off to the FBI’s Detroit Office. FBI Detroit Public Affairs Officer Special Agent Mara Schneider told the paper Tuesday that the office is aware of the threats.
Eater has left messages for both Gulkis and Schneider and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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