White Rhino Coffee employees quit over company's stance on ICE agents
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Margot Stacy managed an East Dallas bagel shop before joining White Rhino Coffee last year. Photo: Courtesy of Margot Stacy
White Rhino Coffee's decision to keep serving ICE agents — and give them a first responder discount — is drawing ire and support from North Texans.
Why it matters: ICE agents are federal law enforcement officers, but some former coffee shop employees say they shouldn't receive the same perks at local businesses as first responders, such as police officers, firefighters and hospital workers.
State of play: Over a dozen White Rhino employees have quit their jobs in the past week, in large part because of the company's stance on serving ICE workers, two former employees tell Axios.
Catch up quick: White Rhino has over a dozen locations and owns Emporium Pies.
- The company gives free drip coffee and cold brew to uniformed on-duty first responders and a 50% discount on anything else.
Friction point: Margot Stacy, who resigned from her manager position at White Rhino's downtown Dallas location last week, tells Axios she doesn't think the company has done enough to protect its employees and customers from ICE.
- "If you've come to America from a different country or if you were born here — that doesn't matter to me. I support freedom," Stacy tells Axios.
The other side: The company posted a long statement on its Facebook page on Sunday, saying it supports all types of people and is "truly thankful to every public servant regardless of position."
- "At the end of the day, we simply sell coffee. We don't just sell coffee to one particular type of American. We want to be a place of inclusivity to everyone," the coffee chain wrote.
- The company did not reply to Axios' request for comment on Monday.
Between the lines: ICE officers regularly patronize the downtown location, Stacy tells Axios. But many employees expressed concerns that might put them and their customers at risk, Stacy says.
- After a detainee died in a shooting at a Dallas ICE facility last year, Stacy imposed a policy that ICE officers don't count as first responders.
- Earlier this month, after an ICE agent fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, Stacy and other White Rhino employees asked their upper management if they could refuse service to ICE agents.
- They were told to keep serving them and give them a first responder discount. That's when she and several other employees decided to resign, she says.
Yes, but: Some people in White Rhino's Facebook comments say they will continue going to the shops.
- "I go for coffee, just like I shop at grocery stores for the products, not because of politics," one person wrote.
What's next: Stacy says she has received an outpouring of support in the past week and is prioritizing helping her former colleagues find new jobs before deciding where she will land next.