Hundreds of customers gathered at Palestinian-owned Coffeyeh this month to support the coffee shop after its owners reported death threats, harassing phone calls and confrontations amid disputed claims about an Oct. 7 promotion.
The Oct. 17 gathering drew an estimated 500 people, co-owner Ziad “Zee” Bader told The Worker, which reported that customers lined up outside the shop and into the shopping center’s parking lot. Some waited as long as an hour to purchase coffee.
“Everybody has been connecting, networking, supporting the business and looking out for one another,” an attendee said in an Instagram video describing the gathering.
Coffeyeh, at 2100 Cypress Creek Road, Suite 200, serves espresso drinks, baked goods and desserts. Local customers were discussing its soft opening in May 2025. Austin coffee guide ATX Coffee World describes its offerings as blending Middle Eastern and Mexican flavors.
The controversy involved social media claims that the business was offering free lattes on Oct. 7 to customers wearing a keffiyeh who could identify the significance of the date.
Oct. 7 marks the anniversary of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. A keffiyeh is a traditional Middle Eastern scarf whose black-and-white Palestinian version is widely associated with Palestinian identity and solidarity.
Coffeyeh explicitly denied running a promotion that day.
“We would like to clarify that there is no promotion running today at Coffeyeh Coffee Shop,” the business said in a public notice. “Any posts, messages, or claims about a promo are false and are part of a propaganda campaign.”
In a separate statement posted to its Instagram account Oct. 6, the shop rejected allegations that it celebrated violence.
“Coffeyeh does not, and will never, celebrate or promote violence or grief in any form,” the statement read. “Our purpose is rooted in coffee, community, and hospitality—a welcoming space built on dignity and respect for all innocent lives.”
Screenshots of posts branded by Nick’s Right Podcast and the Combat Antisemitism Movement show graphics presenting the alleged promotion as an Oct. 7, 2026, offer. The graphics do not independently establish when the underlying promotional material originated.
Conservative commentary website Twitchy published an Oct. 8 article acknowledging the shop’s denial and reporting that the circulated promotional image came from 2025. The original material’s date and authenticity have not been independently verified for this article.
In an Oct. 12 interview with The Worker, co-owner Larissa Dominguez said the owners had received dozens of threatening messages since Oct. 6, including 15 to 20 explicit death threats. She said harassing calls continued into the early morning and that police were called after people became belligerent at the business. Those accounts have not been independently confirmed through police records.
A cropped message screenshot supplied for this article shows a sender accusing the business of supporting terrorism and announcing plans for a motorcycle gathering.
“You can expect about 30 Harleys sitting at the coffee shop making a presence sometime this weekend,” the message reads. A second message adds: “If I have my way, it will be more than that.”
The screenshot does not display the sender’s identity or a timestamp. The Worker separately attributed messages about a planned 30-biker visit to Matthew Krueger. The newspaper reported that the bikers did not appear at the Oct. 17 gathering.
The owners told The Worker that customers, including Jewish patrons, had visited to express support. They also said the business offered a standing 10% discount for customers wearing a keffiyeh, regardless of the date.
In video remarks describing how Palestinian culture shapes the business, an owner emphasized the way customers are welcomed and served.
“We show them the Palestinian hospitality. We show them that respect. We care for them,” the owner said.
The owner described sometimes walking around the counter to deliver an order personally so customers experience “nothing but love and respect and the Palestinian warmth.”
