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The El Coyote Mexican café has been a staple of the Los Angeles restaurant scene for seven decades. Not too far from gay ground zero West Hollywood, the kitschy decor and cheap margaritas have been drawing customers for decades, particularly members of the LGBT community, who flock to the restaurant’s unofficial gay Thursdays for drinks and food.
But on Wednesday morning it wasn’t about enchilada plate specials. El Coyote opened its doors early to host about 70 opponents of Proposition 8, many of whom had been longtime customers. Marjorie Christoffersen -- a manager, regular fixture at the restaurant, and the niece of the original owner -- was revealed by bloggers and a local food website to be a $100 donor to the Yes on 8 campaign.
After getting hundreds of angry e-mails and phone calls, El Coyote staff invited customers to a free lunch with Christoffersen to explain her position. In the restaurant's back dining room, a visibly shaken and tearful Christoffersen trembled as she read from a prepared statement.
“I’m sick at heart if I offended anyone in the gay community,” Christoffersen said as family members flanked her. She pleaded with the crowd not to boycott the restaurant, telling them the only people to get hurt are the families of the El Coyote’s 89 employees. “This was a personal donation,” she said, “not the El Coyote’s.
“It saddens me that my faith may keep you away from the El Coyote,” she added.
But the press conference quickly went south when people in the crowd began asking questions. A man identifying himself as an ex-member of the Mormon Church asked if Marjorie was willing to donate to No on 8.
She started crying before saying... "I will not."
Chaos ensued, the crowd erupted -- many of them calling for a full on boycott of the restaurant.
Christoffersen and the employees of El Coyote are in the cross hairs of the next phase of the Prop. 8 protests. Will LGBTs punish businesses that espoused support for the passage of the marriage ban?
One of the restaurant’s managers, identifying himself as Bill, said he was upset by the reaction and the potential loss of loyal customers, but noted that so far business had “not at all” suffered since the news broke of Christoffersen’s donation. But Bill explained that the restaurant was making a donation to Lambda Legal and another LGBT-related charity, in support of what is expected to be a lengthy court battle over Prop. 8.
The debate on what to do continued after Christoffersen finished her remarks. A brief question-and-answer period deteriorated into a shouting match between some of the Prop. 8 opponents and Christoffersen. Her family then hustled her out of the restaurant.
One regular customer suggested Christoffersen didn’t understand what she had done. “We have to be compassionate,” he said.
Another Prop. 8 opponent disagreed, saying Christoffersen “is not taking any responsibility for how anyone feels.”
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