PORTLAND Pray. (KPTV) – A Southeast Portland coffee shop has pulled out of a campaign to build a coffee shop in Gaza following community pushback. Heretic Coffee had announced plans in mid-September to partner with HUMANITE Peace Collective, a global humanitarian organization, with the goal of raising $100,000 for a community gathering space in Gaza called the Department of Peace. The planned cafeteria was intended to serve free coffee and hot meals, mirroring the programs Heretic offers locally. In a statement released Thursday, owner Josh White announced that the company is stepping away from the project and ending its partnership with HUMANITE. “We have been working behind the scenes to analyze the responses, concerns and frustrations that have arisen following the announcement of our collaboration with Humanite Peace Collective,” White wrote. “To get to the point, we have decided to step away from this project and the collaboration with Humanite.” White took responsibility for how the initiative was rolled out online, stating that he did not communicate project details clearly on social media platforms and did not gather feedback from local backers beforehand. “I should have brought this to our community first and gotten feedback on this before moving forward,” White said. “I fully recognize that I dropped the ball on that, and there is repair work here that we can do.” According to White, the decision to part ways was made in mutual agreement with HUMANITE earlier in the week. HUMANITE will continue the initiative independently using the money raised so far and any additional funds it obtains. Before leaving, White noted that a portion of the donations raised funded an event that provided food and activities for children at an orphanage in Gaza. Heretic previously reported raising more than $24,000 toward the initial goal. Moving forward, White said the shop is refocusing its efforts closer to home. Copyright 2026 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
