The open letter, co-signed by Oakland’s Lakeshore and San Francisco’s Castro LGBTQ+ cultural districts, calls on the coffee chain to reverse its controversial move.
A day after the CEO of Oakland-headquartered Philz Coffee demanded that Pride flags be removed from all of the chain’s stores, the Oakland and San Francisco LGBTQ+ cultural districts are speaking out.
In an open letter sent Thursday afternoon, the Oakland Lakeshore and San Francisco Castro LGBTQ+ cultural districts told CEO Mahesh Sadarangani that his announcement was “an extreme disappointment.”
Both districts represent neighborhoods with deep histories intertwined with LGBTQ+ communities. And both are hosts to Philz Coffee cafes.
“When Philz came to our neighborhoods, it did so knowing it would be serving our communities,” the district representatives wrote. “These recent actions, however, suggest that you do not prioritize us or the diversity of the LGBTQ community.”
Philz Coffee did not immediately respond to questions from The Oaklandside about the letter.
But Sadarangani previously said the decision, which will take down all types of flags, was intended to create a “more inclusive experience” at Philz stores. “This is a change in how our stores look, not in who we are,” he wrote in a statement sent to multiple media outlets.
Both LGBTQ+ cultural districts pushed back on Sadarangani’s comments, saying the move does the exact opposite.
“Let us be clear: there is no community more inclusive of all backgrounds, creeds, races, genders, religions, immigration statuses, or classes than the LGBTQ community,” the districts’ letter read. “We encompass every community across the world.”
The letter, which both districts also posted on social media, called for Philz to reverse the decision and reaffirm its commitment to the LGBTQ+ community. It also urged community members to sign a Change.org petition, launched by Philz Coffee baristas, demanding that company leadership reinstate Pride flags at all locations.
“We stand with Philz baristas and workers who have spoken out about the importance of maintaining Pride flags in their stores and who have organized a public petition calling for their reinstatement,” the district leaders wrote.
Philz’s Lakeshore Avenue location opened in June 2024, nine years after its College Avenue store opened. The Castro cafe opened in 2015. The company was founded in 2003 in San Francisco’s Mission District and moved its headquarters from San Francisco to its Oakland roasting facility in 2024.
Philz was purchased by the private equity group Freeman Spogli last year for $145 million. A controversial part of the deal was the cancellation of stocks owned by 10 former employees. An FAQ published on Philz Coffee’s website after the sale said Freeman Spogli intended “to preserve and build upon Philz Coffee’s rich history, maintaining the unique, authentic coffee experience that has made the brand so special for over two decades.”Send a note to the Oaklandside newsroom.*
Roselyn Romero
Roselyn Romero covers public safety for The Oaklandside. She was previously The Oaklandside’s small business reporter as a 2023-24 Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism Fellow. Before joining the team, she was an investigative intern at NBC Bay Area and the inaugural intern for the Global Investigations team of The Associated Press through a partnership with the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting. She graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2022 with a bachelor’s in journalism and minors in Spanish, ethnic studies, and women’s & gender studies. She is a proud daughter of Filipino immigrants and was born and raised in Oxnard, California.More by Roselyn Romero
