How do you stop a boycott before it destroys a Los Angeles landmark?
At least one fan of the 77-year-old El Coyote Mexican Cafe -- LA Food Crazy blogger Jess Winfield -- went in search of answers this week, interviewing the restaurant's staff and management about how the restaurant has been impacted by a call to boycott that went out following the revelation that someone affiliated with the restaurant's ownership and management made a $100 campaign donation in favor of Proposition 8, the gay-marriage ban.
Unless you've avoided all news sources since the General Election, you're likely aware of the powerful protests that immediately followed the passage of Prop 8, particularly considering the money the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints poured into the pro side.
The El Coyote boycott has become part of that, and not without result. A few days ago it was reported that the employee who made the controversial contribution resigned.
Now, Winfield wonders at how to call the whole thing off. Hey says El Coyote has since made donations to gay and lesbian causes, which apparently earned the scorn of some right-wing groups that may also be boycotting the restaurant. "Business is off dramatically," Winfield writes. "Waiters and waitresses -- many of them gay -- are having their shifts cut back."
He ends the post with this way: "So could someone please declare victory achieved, and the boycott over? My local diner's in trouble."
