Christian Coffee Shop Owner Labeled a ‘Bigot’ Despite Helping the Homeless

A Christian coffee shop dedicated to helping the homeless in Denver, Colorado is being targeted by protesters for promoting biblical truths.

Founded by Jamie Sanchez in 2023, The Drip Café hires participants of “Project Revive” – a local program providing biblical and practical resources for homeless individuals seeking a fresh start.

Both The Drip Café and Project Revive are extensions of Sanchez’s homeless ministry, Recycle God’s Love. The organization is committed to “serving those who have been forgotten” by providing “hot meals, clothing, hygiene, life-saving winter supplies, and most importantly, the love of Christ.”

While Sanchez’s programs have done an incredible amount of good for Denver’s homeless population, The Drip Café continually receives extreme pushback from protesters.

Prior to the café’s opening day in 2023, Sanchez began receiving messages accusing the establishment of pushing an “anti-gay” agenda. He told Fox News:

It was really strange, actually, because we all of a sudden started getting like messages on Instagram about how we hate gay people and random comments like that.

And come to find out there was an organized group ready to protest the opening of our café before we even opened.

We did some digging, and we found out it was strictly because we were Christian.

Confirming Sanchez’s suspicions, a local group called the Denver Communists protested at The Drip Café on its opening day.

The protesters specifically opposed the following belief statement from Recycle God’s Love:

We believe that a homosexual lifestyle is contrary to God’s Word and purpose for humanity and is sin (I Timothy 1:10).

Moreover, this organization is instructed to Love those living such lifestyles.

We Believe that showing hate towards people in these communities is not the way Jesus would respond.

Therefore, although disagreeing with the lifestyles we believe to be sinful, we must show love.

Since the café’s opening day, protesters have relentlessly accused Sanchez’s business, claiming “Drip Café exploits homeless labor and disguises it as charity,” and “The Drip Café condemns queer people to death – with love.” 

Most generally, the group asserts the shop’s affiliation with a “right-wing” church that supposedly hates the LGBT community,

A member of the Denver Communists commented to Fox News,

There are plenty of Christian denominations that don’t share their bigoted view, such as the ELCA [Evangelical Lutheran Church in America], and we’ve been joined by pastors and many Christians in our protests.

Drip has doubled down on its homophobic position. Jamie and his bigoted coffee shop don’t have a monopoly on Christianity, but he sure is willing to try and profit off of it.

Additionally, a blog post from the Denver Communists stated,

We may not succeed in running The Drip out of town before the end of its lease, but that is ultimately irrelevant.

The protests against the hate-café are serving as a training ground for new queer-rights activists, the message of queer liberation is being spread, and our ultimate victory, while delayed, is inevitable.

In reference to the opening day protests and comments, Sanchez recalled,

I was in shock. Our whole purpose opening the café was to serve the homeless community and help people get off the street, change their lives.

And here we got a group who just hates us because we’re doing that and we’re Christian.

The Denver Communist group continued protesting outside Sanchez’s café every weekend for some time. Now, the group only gathers during a monthly art walk event on the café’s street, Santa Fe Drive.

Although these protests have died down, hostility towards The Drip Café has not. Sanchez says the coffee shop has been vandalized on several occasions – broken windows, “Keep Santa Fe Gay” stickers slapped onto the property and even a spray-painted image of a hanging KKK member on the café’s front door.

Additionally, a recent Instagram post promoted an upcoming protest, “Drag Against Drip,” advertising the group’s plan for “drag performances right on the homophobes’ doorstep.” 

Sanchez has also reported aggressive interactions between the protesters and his customers. He specifically recalled how two protesters once followed an elderly woman into the shop and how a blind Christian DJ was screamed at outside the café. Sanchez commented,

Here’s this group trying to act inclusive, and they are harassing a Black blind guy in front of my café because he’s Christian.

The Denver Communists have also written aggressive messages about the coffee shop on their website and social media platforms, claiming the “bigots” at the café are “advocating for violence while hiding behind polite words.”

As if that isn’t enough, the group has also connected Sanchez to neo-Nazis, to which he responded, “It’s very silly of them to say I am part of a Nazi group, considering I am a brown-skinned Hispanic.”

Despite the constant hostility over the past two years, Sanchez says he has shown the protesters nothing but love:

The communists have told me I’m not welcome, told me to kill myself, and my response is, “I love you, and you are welcome to come in peacefully.”

We have offered them free coffee and food on cold days.

I’ve never shown anything but love to them and that’s why the only pictures they have of me is praying for them.

I understand that they feel like they are having an identity crisis, and they might feel hopeless and lost and the only way to rectify that feeling is through the Son of God who is Jesus Christ.

Since Sanchez has found no help from local authorities, his team at Drip now offers live worship music in the shop every First Friday in an attempt to “drown out” the protesters’ chaos.

While some harbor hatred for Sanchez and the café, Drip’s Google reviews are filled with love and praise for the inspiring establishment. Several reviews include comments such as:

I love this place! My coffee always tastes great, the staff are incredibly kind, and it’s inspiring to have a coffee shop that loves Jesus out loud. Very refreshing.

I came in from out of town and had a coffee here. they were the most welcoming people, they prayed with me, and I absolutely admire what they are doing for the homeless community!

They provide so much for the community by feeding the homeless, getting them off the streets and offering an environment of prayer, kindness, amazing food and love even for outsiders who hate on them for simply being Christian.

These reviews demonstrate that although hate often takes center stage, hope still exists in the midst of such darkness.

Please join the Daily Citizen in praying for Jamie Sanchez, The Drip Café, and all others who are being persecuted for their promotion of biblical truths.

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Image credit: Denver 7