Read our interview with Coffeyeh’s owners here.
On October 17, hundreds of people attended a solidarity event to support Coffeyeh, a pro-Palestine coffee shop in Cedar Park, Texas, against a wave of Zionist harassment it has been facing over the past month in connection with the anniversary of Al-Aqsa Flood.
Coffeyeh’s owners, two of which are Palestinian, invited people to stand with them in response to text message threats from Matthew Krueger, a motorcycle club member who claimed he was going to show up with 30 bikers to have “good coffee and talk about terroristic group kkkhamas.”
The bikers were nowhere to be seen.
Krueger is the Facebook admin of the Hill Country Hooligans motorcycle club, whose self-described goal is to “bring people together for good vibes and a place to belong.” In Facebook comments, he also identifies himself as the owner of Top Notch Home Services, a handyman service.
While the Hooligans never showed up, Zee Bader, one of Coffeyeh’s owners, told The Worker he estimates around 500 people came to support the store. It was “really the best weekend since we opened our doors,” Bader said.
Pro-Palestine supporters came from all over nearby parts of central Texas, and at least one person drove in from San Antonio. For at least three hours, the line to purchase coffee trailed outside into the parking lot of the strip mall. Customers were in good spirits despite up to hour-long waits for coffee, considering solidarity the most important purpose for being there.
One attendee named Kim told The Worker she came out “to knock over some motorcycles,” expressing her disappointment that the Hooligans were a no-show.
Bader said, “The pro-Palestinian community definitely showed us their love. I’m just really proud of our community for understanding the importance of being steadfast, saying what you believe without fear.”
A volunteer with The Worker spoke briefly to the crowd inside Coffeyeh: “We can’t talk about the genocide in Gaza without talking about the Palestinian armed resistance. We must take inspiration in their fight and do what must be done to advance revolution here.”
Co-owner Larissa Dominguez, who is married to Bader, said if Krueger’s club had come, “I don’t think they would have come very close. If we need to fight, we will do what we gotta do. We are here to stand our ground, to stand up for our people, to stand up for ourselves, for our community.”
Photo: Screenshot of Coffeyeh’s video documenting the solidarity event and the line of customers at their store.
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