Washington Town in Uproar Over Coffee Shop's Facebook Rants
Owner reportedly told woman to "shoot herself" in online exchange.
Dec. 31, 2013— -- Tempers have reached a boiling point in Anacortes, Wash., where a coffee shop has been boycotted over burning remarks made on its Facebook page.
Sips Ahoy, a self-titled "sexy sailor coffee shop" where baristas serve cups of Joe while wearing bikinis, recently became the subject of ire after owner Meghan Calavan reportedly engaged in a heated online exchange with local woman Jesseka Cladek, taking aim at her body, according to reports by TV station King5.com.
Using the Sips Ahoy Facebook page, Calavan reportedly criticized Cladek's appearance, calling her "fat," advising her to "save world hunger by shooting yourself" and telling another commenter that "the world would be a better place if [Cladek] died."
The Sips Ahoy Facebook page has since been taken down. But another Facebook page, Boycott Sips Ahoy, has launched in its place and includes what appear to be screen grabs of the original exchange in a bid to put the coffee kiosk out of business.
"I've never had to be scared for my life or ever thought someone wish I were dead," wrote Cladek on the Boycott Sips Ahoy page, which has since amassed more than 4,500 followers. Many posts call for the coffee shop's imminent closure, accusing it of cyberbullying.
"I made this page to close Sips Ahoy down. We don't want this place of business in our small town," the administrator states in the About section of the new Facebook page. Located in Skagit County on Fidalgo Island, Anacortes has a population of about 16,000.
The Boy Sips Ahoy administrator, whose name is not listed on the page, did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment. Calavan was also unavailable to speak when ABC News contacted Sips Ahoy.
But in a recent interview with King5.com, Calavan and her father stated that they have now become the target of threats and pranks themselves, and that their home was recently egged. Calavan also expressed remorse for her words online.
"I stuck up for myself in an immature manner, I know," she told King5.
