A Sydney vegan cafe that proudly declared they were a 'pro-Trump straight safe space' has been forced to close down.
Hale & Hearty, based in Waterloo, faced major backlash after its owner, Mark De Costa, posted a series of racist jokes to a Sydney Vegan Facebook page and later declared his restaurant as a 'pro-Trump straight safe' zone.
The cafe was also seen using homophobic and offensive slurs when replying to people's angry comments over Instagram.
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In the weeks since the messages and controversial statements, it seems like the hate has become too much. A Twitter user has posted screenshots that showed De Costa announcing the closure of Hale & Hearty.
"We are closing and would like to thank all those who supported us over the last five years," the statement read. "Seven more days and we're out".
The cafe's social media accounts have already been deleted.
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Da Costa had previously claimed he was the victim of a smear campaign from the 'left wing fake vegan community' for his public support of Donald Trump and Pauline Hanson.
He added that he believed the vitriol started when he made comments about Trump on his personal social media pages, which were picked up by a user and posted on other vegan pages.
He wrote on Instagram: "Since that post... my business and family have received hundreds of threats and vulgar messages from both the vegan and gay community who have labelled the business racist amongst other deplorable things for the posts and for being Trumpions."
Da Costa later claimed to be supporters of the LGBTQ community, telling News Corp: "We've always supported the gay and LGBT community. When they were hosting the plebiscite we posted, 'yes we support you'."
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Despite being criticised for his comments, Da Costa had said he believed it's better to be upfront about his feelings.
In a video posted to social media prior to the cafe's closure, the cafe owner said: "Hey guys how you doing? It's Mark here, the most racist vegan on the planet, here to tell you today we are doing $10 plant-based pancakes.
"So if you want Sydney's best pancakes with a side of racism, come and see us."
Featured Image Credit: InstagramTopics: News, Vegan, Sydney, Trump, Australia
