Mina’s World, a popular West Philly cafe, closes as internal disputes surface on social media

The Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | 7/2/2022 | by Rita Giordano

[NohSpinZone]

Mina’s World, the West Philadelphia coffee shop that drew local and national attention as a community-oriented and LGBTQ inclusive space, has closed.

“We don’t have enough money to continue operating,” read the message posted Friday on Mina’s Instagram. “The People’s Fridge will stay in place for this moment — if we are asked to move it we find another host in West Philly.

“Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the ways we were able to.”

*SNIP*

In recent weeks, evidently a dispute had arisen between some of Mina’s employees and the cafe’s owners.

Sonam Parikh and Kate Egghart, partners in Mina’s, could not be reached for comment. Neither could the disgruntled employees.

While the exact nature of the dispute couldn’t be determined, it has become the source of much social media discussion, with expressions of support for both sides coming from community members.

Some of the workers have started a GoFundMe page to try to raise money to buy the building where the cafe is located. The page alleges that the current owner is seeking to sell the building “as a method of retaliating against the [workers’] collectivizing.”

In another social media post, a person identifying as E.J. Egghart and the owner of the building and mother of one of the cafe owners said that the cafe had been losing money and that she had been subsidizing it. Defending her daughter and her partner, she said they were motivated by “social justice.”

[NohSpinZone]

We all should know the phrase "go woke, go broke". But there is a corollary "start woke, go broke faster".

There's oodles of nonsense in this story but the bottom line is that the two queer operators did not know how to manage the bottom line. As the building owner (the mother of one of the two operators) said in the article, the business had been failing for a while and she had been subsidizing it.

The uber-woke employees (sounds mostly black) recently piled on making insane demands including the operators "redistributing" the business to them to fight gentrification or sumthin'.

It's hard enough to run a successful restaurant. It's nearly impossible when you're trying to make social justice your top-selling product.

[Billthedrill]

If I had a nickel for every workers’ collective that has gone broke since the 70’s I’d be...a capitalist...

[Steely Tom]

The Implosion of Boston’s Pride Parade Is a Sign of Things to Come

Pull quote: "The organization was dissolved from within..."

See link for more.

[ConservativeInPA]

Go woke, go broke.

[Hambone 1934]

Obviously,if it was losing money it wasn’t that popular

[NohSpinZone]

[lurk]

Reality is a stern instructor.

[Seruzawa]

Did it have all women employees? That would be the kiss of death as well.

[DoodleDawg]

Some of the workers have started a GoFundMe page to try to raise money to buy the building where the cafe is located...

They're almost a month in and they've raised about $11,000 of their goal of $200,000. Looks like the collective is going to lose.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Mina's employees got uppity. Now they don't have jobs. No more free coffee either.

[Noumenon]

"You can evade reality, but you cannot evade the consequences of evading reality."
-- Ayn Rand

[Governor Dinwiddie]

#11: "It’s see through brown and tastes like white women washed their mixed race kids underwear in it."

LOL! Laugh of the day. 👍

[Tallguy]

... the owners...