CEO Mahesh Sadarangani confirmed the decision in a statement to KRON<\/a> on Wednesday, saying that the chain isn\u2019t backing away from its \u201clongstanding support\u201d for LGBTQ+ people.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working toward creating a more consistent, inclusive experience across all our stores, including removing a variety of flags and other decor,\u201d Sadarangani wrote. \u201cThis is a change in how our stores look, not in who we are. Our allyship runs deeper than what is on our walls.\u201d<\/p>\n A Philz manager at one San Francisco location additionally told KRON that Sadarangani had told stores to \u201cconsider whether in-store displays make all customers feel included\u201d during a recent company summit. It is still unclear when the new policy would take effect.<\/p>\n A Pride flag seen at a Philz Coffee.<\/p>\n Smith Collection\/Gado\/Getty Images<\/p>\n In the petition, workers called on management to reverse the changes, saying the flags held \u201cdeep meaning and value to both staff and visitors,\u201d many of whom are LGBTQ+ themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cRemoving these flags risks alienating a core group of team members and loyal customers who see Philz not just as a coffee shop, but as a place where they are embraced and celebrated for who they are,\u201d workers wrote. The petition had received over 2,400 signatures at time of writing Thursday.<\/p>\n On the San Francisco subreddit<\/a>, patrons and workers alike lambasted the announcement, speculating about whether it was a mandate from the company\u2019s new ownership. When private equity firm Freeman Spogli bought Philz<\/a> last August for $145 million, Sadarangani drew criticism<\/a> at the time for allegedly telling former employees not to sell company stock, which became worthless after the sale.<\/p>\n \u201cA bunch of us are opposed to [the flags\u2019 removal], many of the staff are queer, it\u2019s one man making the decision,\u201d wrote one Redditor who claimed to be a current Philz employee. \u201cIt\u2019s important to name and shame.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Gay Bars Are Closing Their Doors at a Heartbreaking Pace<\/a><\/p>\n From coast to coast, they play a crucial role in the LGBTQ\\+ community, and they’re disappearing.<\/p>\n Philz has faced several rounds of unrelated political backlash in the past six years, including several incidents in 2020, when 181 workers were laid off<\/a> during clashes over the company\u2019s pandemic safety compliance and support for police. In 2023, five workers were sent home from a shift for wearing pro-Palestine pins, prompting the shop\u2019s entire staff to unionize<\/a>. (Philz co-founders Phil and Jacob Jaber are Palestinian-Americans.)<\/p>\n Some on social media commented they were unlikely to return to Philz even if the policy is rescinded. \u201c[I]f they cave and keep the flags they’ll still be anti-queer, so why should we keep giving them money?\u201d one Redditor mused. \u201cProtest by buying coffee elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n The new Philz policy comes amid a conservative campaign to remove Pride iconography from both public and private locations across the U.S. The Trump administration has led the federal charge, removing an official Pride flag<\/a> from the Stonewall National Monument in February after ordering the removal of trans flags last year<\/a>. The incident is currently the subject of a lawsuit from the Gilbert Baker Foundation<\/a>. Republican-controlled states including Florida<\/a> and Texas<\/a> have also taken steps to remove rainbow flags and other symbols from public buildings and crosswalks.<\/p>\n Get the best of what\u2019s queer. Sign up for Them\u2019s weekly newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6baf00e4417eb0ef2f56c01d14ad6d55.jpeg\"\/)
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