Vegan cafe owner at war with customers over Trump support

The owner of a Sydney cafe is at war with customers who flooded his business with bad reviews, branding them “gross and deplorable”.

Controversial vegan cafe owner Mark Da Costa is at a war with customers after his private political views were exposed online.

Mr Da Costa hit headlines after declaring his vegan cafe Hale and Hearty in Sydney’s inner city suburb of Waterloo was a “safe zone” for Trump supporters.

The cafe owner’s backing of the US leader sparked outrage online, with social media users branding his post “idiotic” and giving his cafe negative reviews.

Now he’s fought back, calling his critics “vile” during an appearance on the Kyle and Jackie O Show and posting a lengthy message online in which he described the backlash as “gross and deplorable”.

Mr Da Costa claimed he never wanted to mix business and politics until several screenshots of his support for US president Donald Trump were shared to a private vegan group on Facebook.

“There were several posts I made (to my personal Facebook page) over the last year leading up to the (US) election of my support for Trump and they spread the post and screenshots of my beautiful kids and family to the network of thousands of vegans,” Mr Da Costa told the KIIS radio show hosts.

“It’s a whole new age of snowflakes and these guys reacted in the most vile and dangerous manner.

“Our business not only took a mass hit financially, but the reputation was completely destroyed and that was for having an opinion.”

RELATED: Vegan cafe ‘safe zone for Trump supporters’

Mark Da Costa, who owns Hale and Hearty cafe in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo, has copped major backlash for his support of Donald Trump. Picture: Facebook/Hale&Hearty

Mr Da Costa, who opened his no animal cruelty cafe in June, said the abuse had gone too far, stating a man spat on him in the street while he was on the phone.

“A guy walked past, spat in my face and called me a c**t,” he told Kyle and Jackie O.

“I don’t want to bring the gay thing into it but the gay community locally have attacked me as ferociously as the intersexual vegan community,” he said.

However, Kyle and Jackie O were forced to hang up mid-interview after things turned heated when callers began to flood the phone line slamming Mr Da Costa.

Some accused him of playing the “victim card” and accused of making homophobic comments online.

“I am disgusted by some of the stuff this guy has said to people in text messages, in comments,” an anonymous journalist told the breakfast radio show hosts.

Mr Da Costa fired back, telling the woman: “You have got to understand at that stage I copped five weeks of abuse. … of course you don’t (understand) because you don’t have $600,000 on the line and you’re not being attacked.”

In a post shared on the cafe’s Instagram page on Wednesday, he described the “abuse” as “gross and absolutely deplorable to say the least”.

“All this cause we were private Trump supporters. We hope you’re proud guys. Proud loud and vegan.

“People who are supposed to (be) kinder, more compassionate have been the most evil we have encountered in our time on earth. Shame …”

After being slammed for biting back, he’s lashed out again – this time labelling critics ‘vile’. Picture: Facebook/Hale&Hearty

After his pro-Trump support was exposed online, Mr Da Costa announced on the Hale & Hearty Facebook page that the cafe was a “Donald Trump safe zone”.

The bold move ignited a huge backlash which saw Mr Da Costa personally responding to negative comments – even telling one customer to go “f**k” themselves”.

The customer wrote: “I certainly have been there, prior to the owners (sic) very public and questionable expressions. I was underwhelmed.”

Others branded his post “idiotic” and gave the cafe negative reviews.

“Seriously focus on your business. Your business is suffering. Stop with all this political crap,” one person wrote.

“Focus on what’s positive and exciting. PS You have lost me as a customer along with my family. We were there on opening night and was blown away with your food, service and restaurant. What you have done is disgusting. Get your sh*t together.”

He called into the Kyle and Jackie O breakfast show this morning where callers accused of making homophobic comments online. Picture: Facebook/Hale&Hearty

The owner hit back, writing, “Go f**k yourself you narrow minded pr**k. We are vegan. Not political and you are a loser.”

Mr Da Costa, a long-time resident of Redfern and Surry Hills, told the Wentworth Courier, previously that he is “not backing down”.

“It’s do or die now for this business now that I’ve laid my chips down on the table,” he said.