Gentrification Gaffe: Denver Coffee Shop And Ad Agency Apologize

DENVER, CO -- A sign praising gentrification outside a Five Points coffee shop has now generated an apology from the coffee chain's founder, as well as the Denver-based advertising agency that came up with the slogan. Ink! Coffee at 29th and Larimer posted the sign saying the Aspen-based chain has been “Happily gentrifying the neighborhood since 2014.” The coffee shop is expected to be closed over the weekend.

When the sign was posted by a neighborhood resident on Twitter, Nov. 22, it quickly generated controversy as many residents of the historically black neighborhood and arts district have complained about how rising property values have squeezed them out of their homes.

Later in the week, the shop was tagged with graffiti that read "White coffee" and a window was broken.

On Thursday, Denver-based Cultivator Advertising and Design offered an apology for the campaign. Saying the sign was intended to offer a cynical perspective on the rapid development of our RiNo District neighborhood," the company realized they made mistake, they said.

What we quickly and painfully realized, however, is that we uncovered an enormous blind spot on the true meaning of gentrification and its most legitimate and honest interpretation.

In hindsight, our campaign was callous, naive and uninformed to the true character of the neighborhood and to those who have long called it home. We assure those within the local community and throughout Denver that the literal contents of the sign do not represent the values we hold as an agency or as individuals.

Keith Herbert, company's founder, also apologized, also saying the sentiments on the sign were the result of a "blind spot" about the "troubling issue of gentrification."

Meanwhile, about 600 people had RSVPed on Facebook to an event to protest outside the coffee shop Saturday.

Response to the sign and the issue of gentrification in the neighborhood brought different perspectives on social media, including a comment from CNN presenter Joy Reid, who grew up in Five Points. "Gentrification isn't an adorable marketing strategy," Reid wrote.

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