MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: After several of his pro-Palestinian baristas quit, Aaron Dahan, the Jewish owner of Caffe Aronne, was on the verge of shuttering the established when Jewish community members showed up to support his business.
The 25-year-old owner of the New York City cafe found himself short-staffed at his Upper East Side location on Tuesday, November 7 after his baristas quit when confronted about the "Free Palestine" pins they were wearing to work.
Aaron claimed that a total of five baristas have left since the brutal October 7 attack where Hamas bombarded nearly 2,000 missiles on Israel, leaving more than 1,400 people dead.
The cafe owner also mentioned that previously, he displayed an Israeli flag at the cafe and initiated a fundraising campaign for the Israeli Red Cross, Magen David Adom.
"Our staff was young. They think they know everything, liberal, college-educated," said Aaron to The New York Post, adding, "They think we're supporting genocide, we're supporting colonialism. They know the keywords but they don't really know what they mean."
Several members of the Jewish community showed up at Caffe Aronne following the exit of pro-Palestinian baristas
Aaron Dahan expressed his disappointment over the exit of his staff, saying they were like family to him. Before their departure, he apparently even tried to have a conversation about their conflicting opinions.
"We knew our staff. We knew they were thinking these things. I said, 'Let's go for dinner. Let's sit. Let's ask questions. Let's learn. Let's realize that we're not all here trying to kill each other," stated Aaron.
Calling his mother, Peggy Dahan, on Tuesday, Aaron asked her to close the cafe for the day, but she declined and took over the business that they had only unveiled ten months earlier.
His mother was learning how to "pour a cold brew and use the espresso machine" when the community members showed up to help run the store. At around 1 pm, nearly 70 people were lined up outside the shop, stretching down Lexington Avenue and 71st Street, many holding Israel’s flag.
Following the publication of stories about their baristas, the store had a sharp increase in business, with local doctors and rabbis stopping in and encouraging people to buy gift cards and purchase menu items.
"It’s insane what’s going on," remarked Peggy, adding, "What happened this morning is I got all these texts from people I don’t even know saying, ‘Peggy, we’re coming.’ I walked in, two people were hugging me at 8.30 am. Now there’s a line around the corner. It just shows what an amazing community we have."
Community members express support for Caffe Aronne
A neighborhood resident, Bina Dabbah, 57, stated that as soon as she heard the news about Caffe Aronne, she went inside the business to assist Peggy Dahan, offering to "wash the dishes, to mop the floors."
"I know the baristas here and it’s just very upsetting that all these young people are – I don’t know what they are, ignorant? Hateful? Brainwashed? It’s very scary this is what’s happening in this country, but I hope somebody knows how to fix it because it’s really scary," said Dabbah.
After learning about the announcement on Instagram, 29-year-old Jewish woman Gabrielle Reich and her parents visited the store, saying, "We’re going to support our people," adding, "I was in the middle of work and I just left to come with my parents, and the line goes around the block because we’re here to support."
In an effort to express support, local Rabbi Shlomo Farhi also went out and bought a coffee and promoted the store's "sealed kosher waffles."
