04/01/2026
City of Delray vs. Subculture Coffee — Round 16
Delray Beach says it supports art, culture, coffee, and small business. Its actions say otherwise.
Short Version if you have better things to do (dont we all)
Delray Beach vs. Subculture Coffee — Round 16
Let’s stop pretending.
This is not about parking.
This is not about compliance.
This is not about “helping small business.”
This is about power.
The City of Delray Beach is demanding that we do something they themselves have already admitted is impossible…
And when we can’t?
They shut us down.
Then they stand there and say they “support small business.”
It’s insulting.
It’s dishonest.
And everyone in that room knows it.
After over a year of meetings, hearings, and jumping through hoops…
Their solution?
“Come back for another 90 days.”
Same people.
Same agenda.
Same outcome.
That’s not negotiation.
That’s a slow-motion ex*****on.
Let’s be clear about the message this sends:
If you are a business owner…
If you are an artist…
If you are thinking about opening in Delray Beach…
You are not safe here.
If they can do this to us, they can do it to you.
This isn’t just about a coffee shop.
It’s about whether a city supports culture…
or destroys it.
It’s about whether government works for the people…
or against them.
We built something that people love.
A place for art.
A place for connection.
A place for community.
And the City’s response?
Kill it over parking.
We will keep fighting.
But understand this:
Other cities are already calling.
Other cities are already offering support.
Other cities actually want art, culture, and community.
So here’s the question:
Does Delray Beach want to be that city… or not?
If you care about this community:
Share this.
Show up.
Speak out.
Because once places like this are gone…
They don’t come back.
Long Version if tyring to ignore somone
The Good
The support was incredible.
An amazing, passionate group of people showed up to speak their minds and participate in democracy — even if that opportunity was cut short by a mayor who apparently feels his time, and the commission’s time, is more valuable than that of the constituents they serve.
What was most heartwarming was the overwhelming support for one small coffee shop and what it means to this community: a safe place to gather, work, create art, and build culture.
And credit where it is due: our new Commissioner, Judy Mollica, only a couple weeks into the role, seemed to understand what others have failed to grasp in three years.
The Bad
Kicking the can down the road for another 90 days may be the worst outcome of all.
We have already spent over a year in countless meetings with the City trying to find a compromise. Now we are being sent back for another 90 days to meet with the same people, with the same objectives, and no indication of any new direction that would lead to a different result.
That is not a solution. That is delay.
Just like the demand that we somehow find 44 parking spaces — something even the City admitted was impossible — the latest demands regarding our parking lot are also, by the City’s own prior statements, not realistically achievable. It is complicated to explain fully in one post, but the presentation we were not allowed to give today sheds more light on that.
The Ugly
It was obvious to nearly everyone in the room — minus about six people — that this is a witch hunt, no matter how many times they insist otherwise.
The City is acting in bad faith. They say they want to keep us open. They say they support coffee shops. They say they support small business. But when a city demands that a business do something it knows is impossible — or face closure — it cannot honestly claim it is trying to help that business survive.
It is also painfully clear that Attorney Lynn Gelin either has a personal vendetta against me and/or Subculture, or she is simply an extraordinarily rude public employee. Either way, no city employee paid by taxpayers should treat residents or business owners this way.
Mayor Carney and Commissioner Casale also appear to have a personal issue with me and/or Subculture. I truly do not know why. I wish I did.
But the damage is already done.
This situation has sent a terrible message far beyond Delray Beach. The City has built a wall that many prospective business owners will not want to climb. Who, in their right mind, would choose to open a restaurant, coffee shop, art gallery, or cultural space in a city where they may also become the next target of this administration?
So yes, we will go through the motions. We will attend the meetings. I will continue trying to work with the City in good faith.
But I have very little confidence that anything will change if the goal remains the same: demand the impossible, then blame us when we cannot deliver it.
In the meantime, the City of Boynton Beach and other municipalities have already reached out, offering locations, support, and open arms to help create what we wanted to build in Delray all along: a safe, culturally vibrant place for people to gather.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us — from our entire Subculture staff and from me personally. It truly means the world as we are dragged through this absurdity.
If you are bored enough to review the presentation we were not allowed to present, and have questions, feel free to contact me directly at (561) 714-2382
We also have over 1,000 pages of public records to review. If anyone wants to help, maybe we should organize a work group.
Oops… maybe I just violated another city covenant.
Our presentation we were not allowed to present. Their time was more valuable than ours. Saving a business and 16 jobs was not worth their time!
