A California coffee shop owner says her business was “flooded with righteous people” after left-wing activists targeted her for honoring slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Sara De Luca, owner of Invita Café in Rancho Santa Fe, began placing stickers on coffee cups the Friday after Kirk’s assassination.
The stickers featured messages reading “Thank you, Charlie Kirk” and “We Love You.”
She told Fox News Digital she “didn’t think twice” about paying tribute.
“When Israel went to war, we put on Israel stickers and started to support some of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces],” De Luca explained.
“I would say that was when I was like, ‘Let’s be courageous.’
“But with Charlie, we had hosted him. We had met him.
“We’ve met Erika,” she added, referring to Kirk’s widow.
De Luca said she never considered that honoring a man murdered in public could draw hostility.
“Maybe it’s my ignorance,” she admitted.
“It didn’t even cross my mind that somebody could have some sort of issue with somebody being murdered.”
Online Attacks Spark Local Backlash
Almost immediately, De Luca’s café was flooded with angry calls and online harassment from leftists.
“We ended up having to shut down our Google page and Yelp page because we were getting an insane amount of one-star reviews,” she said.
But the backlash quickly turned into an outpouring of support from her San Diego community and beyond.
“I was actually tearing [up] because I was like, ‘Where did these people come from?’ We went 312% up in sales,” De Luca recalled.
“We were flooded with righteous people just showing up, supporting us, defending us.
“They were defending Charlie. Obviously, we all were.”
Customers packed her small café, with lines stretching up to 45 minutes.
“We didn’t have any haters show up,” De Luca said.
“It was only the righteous showing up – just God-fearing people who are like, ‘Thank you for what you’re doing. Charlie would be proud.’”
Support from Across the Country
The support wasn’t limited to California.
De Luca said her shop received calls and donations from across the nation.
“We had somebody from Georgia call and say, ‘Can I just give you $500 and buy the next 100 drinks?’” she said.
“Somebody walked in and left $300 and just walked out.”
De Luca founded Invita Café nine years ago to carry on her Italian family traditions.
“The idea was to kind of create a space where the espresso is the magnet that unites people, and it brings the community together and brings the traditions that I grew up with here to California,” she said.
Now, she believes the overwhelming support her business has received is no accident.
“God is so behind all of this,” De Luca said.
“This is insane. But I think Charlie would have been proud.”
Invita Café still has stickers available and even hosted a Turning Point USA pop-up in Kirk’s honor.
Our comment section is restricted to members of the Slay News community only.
To join, create a free account HERE.
If you are already a member, log in HERE.