C.O. LGBTQ magazine denied display at Sisters coffee shop, told it’d be ‘kindling’; business says it was misunderstanding
(Update: Company owners say they never gave permission to display magazine)
Sisters Coffee Company says their policy is to display only 2 local publications
SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ)-- In a social media video posted earlier this month, the owner and publisher of SUS magazine, Ruth Vernotico, shared an experience at Sisters Coffee Company in Sisters.
The owner says a manager wouldn't allow them to leave their free publication on display at the business, and were told it would be burned.
"The gentleman I originally spoke to came back, and he said he thought it would be best if I took them with me so that they weren't used as kindling in their fire," Vernotico said.
SUS magazine features topics and stories of the LGBTQ community in Central Oregon. The second issue's cover has a photo of a local couple kissing.
Vernotico says they had spoken with someone at the business months earlier, and they had agreed to leave the publication in the shop.
However, the Sisters Coffee Company said the magazine representative never asked for or received permission from any of the three owners of the business to display SUS magazine at the Sisters location. If any worker did offer such verbal permission, they did so without permission or the owners' knowledge.
"I think it's really important to speak up when things like this happen because you never know who's in the same situation," Vernotico said. "And I just encourage everyone to think about and maybe put aside their own fear of being out in front of something like this, and think about the other people that might be helped."
Under the magazine's social media post, local businesses like Revival Vintage and the Cellar shared support for the publication, allowing it to be in their stores.
In a statement posted to the Sisters Coffee Company's Instagram and shared with NewsChannel 21, owners Jesse, Jared, and Justin say the company has a rule of only displaying two local publications in their stores, and that rule was not properly explained by the employee.
Sus says the original post was never meant to hurt the business or gain an apology. They hoped to help others feel comfortable speaking out.
Vernotico says this incident will not discourage them from distributing the magazine, and they expect to have the third issue later this year.
