Last week, we reported that Philz Coffee in San Francisco would be removing all Pride flags from its coffee shops. The directive was issued by CEO Mahesh Sadarangani, who said the private equity-owned coffee chain was starting to work “towards creating a more consistent, inclusive experience across all of our stores.”
The mandate went as well as could be expected, including petition signed by almost 7,800 people asking that Philz be allowed to continue flying Pride flags, with many threatening a boycott if this is not the case. And now Philz is changing course and has announced that Pride flags can stay up.
It’s been a tumultuous week and a half for Philz executives, to say the least. After the initial ban on April 9volthe reaction from both employees and the public was quick and almost unanimous. This led to internal memo issued late last week by Sadaranganiwhere he doubled the effectiveness of the novel policy. It was basically an “I’m sorry you’re mad” note. But according to Independentafter mounting pressure, Philz finally relented.
“Any Pride flag that is flown remains flown, and any Pride flag that has previously been removed may be re-hung,” the company said in a statement. Sadarangani also issued a public apology for the mistake. “I made a mistake and I sincerely apologize. To our team members, our customers and the LGBTQIA+ community that has been with us from the beginning, the confusion and harm we have caused with our novel Pride flag policy has let you down.
The president claims that he made the decision after the conversation The pride of San Francisco leaders Suzanne Ford and Jupiter Peraza. Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride, said of the meeting that “Mahesh sat down with members of our community, listened to their perspectives and apologized not as a formality, but as someone who made a mistake and wanted to make amends. That’s what matters.”
And it’s not just Pride flags that can hold their own. This reversal also appears to be affecting the coffee chain’s plans to standardize the look of each coffee shop. In the note, the company states that in the future, it will “feature locally created artwork shaped by the voices of team members and the neighborhoods they serve, which will be a living expression of the diverse communities that Philz is proud to be a part of.”
So it seems the corporate large brains have wisely chosen to continue to actively erode the community support that the brand has spent the better part of three decades in the Bay Area trying to build. I mean, it’s still part of the heartless private equity machine that has invalidated all common stock while offering bonuses and payouts to executives, but at least there are Pride flags.
Anyway, with nothing, here it is Sprudge Maps list of coffee shops in San Francisco. Be on the lookout for a sizzling novel San Francisco coffee shop guide in the coming weeks.
