An Avila Beach, Calif., coffee shop is being criticized after allegedly posting an obnoxious sign on its front door announcing plans to close today “because of a silly ass bike race.” It read: “No coffee for you, silly ass rich people in Spandex.”
A stage of one of the country’s top bike races, the Tour of California passes by six-year-old Joe Momma’s Coffee at 310 Front Street. Business Insider obtained a copy of the posted sign, which read, in part (unedited):
CLOSED MAY 16 ALL DAY BECAUSE OF SILLY ASS BIKE RACE!
UNSAFE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS OR STAFF!
We will reopen FRIDAY MAY 17 th for REGULAR CUSTOMERS, when jerk BIKE People are gone !
” NO COFFEE FOR YOU ,SILLY OUT TOWN PEOPLE IN SPANDEX DON’T COME BACK!
(We do LOVE and continue to support our local bike community through contributions bob jones trail ,bike racks , and bike promotion ,so you guys always welcome to experience, best coffee in country)
BUT AMEGEN TOUR FOLKS! NO COFFEE FOR YOU! EVER!
Race organizers expect some 7,500 to gather to watch the stage finish, which is right near Joe Momma’s. In a more reasoned tone, Joe Momma’s shop owner Michael Kidd told the local Tribune about his reservations:
“We think it’s unsafe, so we are not allowing our employees to work that day, and we are discouraging our regular customers from coming,” Kidd said.
Joe Momma’s, opened in 2007, claimed at one point to have the West Coast’s first Clover brewer, serving high-end coffees from roasteries including Intelligentsia and Ritual Coffee Roasters.
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
Comment
5 Comments
Comments are closed.
It’s almost funny, given how much bikers often like to identify themselves as if they’re the only people on earth who like to drink coffee.
This is ridiculous! I own a coffee shop and happen to be a bike rider, too. Either they are out of touch or something in the past has gone wrong. We appreciate it when events come to our community and whether or not we see direct business doesn’t matter. Our community, as a whole, benefits. Been watching the Tour de California and loving it!
Now that’s the way to endear your business to potential customers. Close the store AND insult them. There are smarter ways to accomplish your goals – silly coffee shop with attitude.
First the sign was a joke , a take off on “soup nazi” on Seinfield ” No soup for you! ..no coffee for you ! a lot people and most of bike friends got the joke.. a small coffee shop against a GIANT. Sports Corporation AEG ..the only thing we could do in protest was close..No coffee for you!
Second our protest was that the event was to big and too invasive for such town ..to close our town down ,impact businesses for ten minutes, after they closed town down for two days.
it the race was economic disaster for town every merchant had worse day of year in sales and hotels sold less than year before.
Sometimes you need to take stand for your town ..Oh by the way our business spiked after the race and we had our best year ever.
We still have people who come in and thank us for taking stand..We assure them it’s not bikes we don’t like but Huge events in small town ..We are a community not Event Center.
Oh by the way they brought their own food vendors ,and refuse to support poor businesses that were open
You’re coffee shop still has horrible customer service though, which was put out on display for everyone to see when you posted that sign. It actually makes me very happy, because you showed your true colors. Sure, I get the joke, and I love that episode of Seinfeld, but this is reality, not a sitcom. And you insulted a lot of people who were doing nothing but riding their bikes in a sport that they love. Some of whom are actually locals. Not cool. Grow up, won’t you?