A Cup of Joe, a Mexican American–owned café that has served specialty lattes, café de olla, pastries, and tamales in Garfield Ridge since 2019, recently became the target of online harassment after an employee spoke out in support of immigrants. Some residents called for a boycott, and on Saturday, supporters showed up in large numbers to support the business.
The harassment began after an employee shared Anti-ICE posts on the café’s social media. Some people demanded the café fire the employee. But when the café’s owners refused, the online attacks escalated to one-star Google reviews and threats to report the business to city inspectors and the health department.
Some posters took screenshots of a social media post by A Cup of Jose owners supporting the employee and shared them in private Facebook groups. A flyer was later posted anonymously on the Clearing/Garfield Ridge Facebook community page calling for a boycott and encouraging people to gather outside the café at 7:30am on Saturday, February 7. The flyer featured silhouettes holding American flags and “Trump 2024” flags, and encouraged people to bring their own.
“We support our employees and their right to freedom of speech,” read a statement that A Cup of Joe shared on Instagram. “All this for simply taking a firm stance against the illegal actions by a rogue government agency. Make no mistake, this is not just about our employee. This is about censorship from the side that calls for freedom. They are hypocrites.”
But rather than a boycott, that morning and early afternoon, hundreds lined up outside the coffee shop to support the business, forming a line that stretched a city block. Some waited more than an hour in the cold to show their support.
Karina Santana told the Weekly she saw a post about the planned boycott that a friend shared on Instagram. She was not sure what to expect and wondered if MAGA supporters were going to present. Though not a coffee drinker, she woke up at 4:50a.m. to be among the first to arrive. “It’s nice to see the turnout,” she said. “I actually went outside to look at how long the line was. It’s going down the block.”
People waved flags from the roof of a neighboring business and throughout the crowd, including an American flag, a “Fuck Trump” flag, and several Mexican flags. Some supporters wore blankets reading “Abolish ICE” draped over their backs.
Victoria Alvarez, who came with her sister, said she loves A Cup of Joe’s “money matcha” and vegan scones. While she acknowledged the attempted boycott, she said she came to express her support. “I thought I would see more of the opposing side here, but I don’t see a single one,” Alvarez said.
Others, like Pat, a neighborhood resident for more than forty years, held signs along Archer Avenue reading “No human being is illegal” and “Leave our neighbors alone.” Passing cars honked in support. “Great neighbors, great block. I don’t judge someone by their color or anything,” Pat said, recalling when a Latino neighbor first moved onto her street in 1995.
To keep warm, some supporters danced to norteño music, including “Somos Más Americanos” (We Are More American), a ballad by the Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte. The song, blasted through a speaker carried by Gage Park cyclist Alfredo Valladares Jr., tells the story of an undocumented Mexican immigrant responding to people who tell him to “go back to your country,” despite the border having crossed him—a figurative response to the insult pointing out that the land he lives on was historically part of Mexico. The song also reminds listeners that several U.S. states were once Mexican territory.
Valladares Jr. leads Gage Park Cyclists, a community group founded in 2021 that promotes cycling on the Southwest Side. As immigration enforcement has ramped up, he and fellow cyclists have built a coalition with Cycling X Solidarity. Together, they organize bike rides where participants buy out street vendors’ stock so they don’t have to be outside during ICE raids. The rides draw twenty to thirty cyclists and sometimes a couple hundred participants. The riders play a carefully curated playlist that includes “Somos Más Americanos” to share a message of solidarity.
“I want to get the message across that immigrants, we’re not bad people. They’re people that actually build. They’re people that support. They’re people that provide,” Valladares Jr. said. On Saturday, the group rode their bikes to A Cup of Joe in an act of solidarity.
Valladares Jr. said he did not see the protesters he had expected.
He did, however, notice about five pickup trucks and a sedan flying Trump 2028 flags circling the block, driven by white men wearing camouflage who repeatedly revved their engines. One driver stopped across the street and yelled references to ICE. “Let’s hear it for ICE, more ICE, they’re on their way,” Valladares Jr. recalled the man saying.
“I invited him over to have some coffee with us and maybe discuss our differences, but of course he declined.”
Jorge Garcia, a McKinley Park resident carrying a bullhorn, also came to support A Cup of Joe. He joined Karina and two University of Illinois Chicago students. “It’s important to stand with businesses that advocate for the immigrant and Latino community,” he said.
According to A Cup of Joe’s statement, those behind the attempted boycott also tried to portray the café as anti-police. However, the owners shared a screenshot on Instagram from a local officer expressing support: “As a police officer we love you in our community and hope that your business continues to thrive!” it read. “I’ve loved A Cup of Joe since you guys opened and will always support.”
By midafternoon, the line had disappeared, and the café had sold out coffee and pastries, with even more neighbors having turned out to show their support. “I see more community, love, support, and that’s what I was hoping to see,” Alvarez said.
José Abonce is the senior program manager for the Chicago Neighborhood Policing Initiative and a freelance reporter who focuses on immigration, public safety, politics, and race.