[P]ortland, Oregon, café chain and roastery Ristretto Roasters came under fire last month as the public was made aware that Nancy Rommelmann, wife of the company’s owner Din Johnson, had posted videos on YouTube under the title, “#MeNeither.” The video series features Rommelmann and her co-host, Leah McSweeney, discrediting the accounts of sexual assault survivors and suggesting #MeToo survivors should simply move on. In the weeks since, Rommelmann and Johnson have repeatedly denied that she had any professional affiliation with the business, despite state records and employees saying otherwise.
On January 28, roughly two and a half weeks after the news broke, the Ristretto Roasters Twitter account mysteriously began tweeting about Camila Coddou, as “a little lady with an ax to grind.” Coddou was the former Ristretto employee who organized the letter that was sent to The Oregonian on behalf of Ristretto employees. The tweets were pinned to the top of the company’s feed but were deleted shortly after. However, some users managed to screencap the thread and share it via their own accounts.
By the 29th, Rommelmann had admitted to the Portland Mercury that she had been behind the thread. She reportedly asked for the Ristretto company Twitter account password (it is still unknown from whom) before writing the thread.
Local grocery store chains New Seasons and Market of Choice have both since pulled Ristretto Roasters from their shelves.
UPDATED FEBRUARY 6, 1:30 P.M.:Ristretto Roasters has closed its NW Portland location, inside home goods and hardware store Schoolhouse Electric. As reported by Portland Mercury, Rommelmann herself worked the final shift Tuesday afternoon before the café closed.
According to a letter emailed Monday to Ristretto staff by owners Din Johnson and Josh Gibby, this location was closed “to concentrate on our higher volume cafes in a manner that’s most effective for our business and staff,” while also promising that all staff at the NW location will be relocated to other cafés.
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