Storyville Coffee is the new cafe in Pike Place Market owned by people with serious ties to neo-evangelical, homophobic, misogynist Mars Hill Church—here's the story on that. Asked about the connection, a Storyville marketing manager assured me, "As a company, we are not affiliated with any religious organization of any kind." I answered that while there may not be an official connection, given the involvement in Mars Hill of the company's principals, it seems logical that profits from Storyville will end up benefiting Mars Hill. Would they be willing to comment on that? They still have not responded.

Now an internet sleuth in comments on that story has discovered a cached page from the Mars Hill website that indicates that as recently as 2009, the Storyville Coffee Company (which at that point was a roastery without any cafes) was donating directly to Mars Hill Church:

God has used Storyville Coffee to bless Mars Hill Downtown. Since the Downtown campus has been planted Storyville has donated tens of thousands of dollars worth of coffee, supplies, and equipment. God is continuing to use Storyville to bless people and advance the gospel message.

The blog post has apparently since been taken down.

I think it is naive to believe that Storyville profits will not end up in Mars Hill pockets. Various commenters have other theories about the Storyville/Mars Hill link.

So, do you want to spend your money at Storyville cafe? Some people in comments are saying it doesn't matter. Spy D disagrees:

Just because you don't care whether your consumer spending supports hateful politics, that doesn't mean others don't. We vote with our dollars more than with our votes in this country. You send money their way, you promote their ideals and agenda by making these people more powerful. Failing to see that doesn't make it less true (just like denying climate change doesn't fix the fucked up weather).

And commenter soggydan points out:

most importantly, $32 a pound coffee is an insult to both God and man!