Mauro Cafe Owner Faces Backlash Over Alleged Anti-Semitic Acts

Evelyne Joan, owner of the popular Mauro Café on Melrose Blvd., received some unflattering publicity this week after it was revealed that she participated in an anti-Israel protest outside the Adas Torah synagogue on June 23. She was seen holding a megaphone and yelling at Jewish men and women who tried to enter the synagogue. That Sunday morning, a real estate convention was being held there, to sell apartments in Israel. Pro-Palestinian activists urged people to attend the event and declared, “Racist expansionist settlers are not welcome in Los Angeles!”

Canary Mission, a website that exposes people who promote hate, posted a video of Joan and claimed she insulted a police officer with her megaphone. “Your mother would be ashamed of you. You hit women… What a shame! Shame! Shame on you…”

Things quickly escalated. On June 24, a post on Canary Mission’s Instagram page claimed that Joan was spreading anti-Semitism and refusing to host an event for Jews and Israel.

A few days later, a digital advertising truck drove by the restaurant with Joan’s face plastered on it and the caption: “Meet Evelyn Joan. She keeps Jews out of their temple but welcomes their money at Mauro Café.” There was also a video of what happened outside the Adas Torah synagogue.

A group of men and women holding Israeli and American flags stood outside the restaurant and confronted the owner as she stood there with her arms crossed and a few employees next to her.

“Your Nazism knows no limits,” one of the protesters shouted at him. “If she went to a masquerade ball, you would be outraged. You remain silent today, you condone her behavior. Mauro Café, Eveyline never protests any of the atrocities committed within walking distance of Israel… but when it comes to Jews, in a place of worship. Shame on you.”

On June 30, a man wearing a kippah was seen entering his restaurant and leaving after a few minutes, claiming he had been refused service. “The owner told me I couldn’t buy coffee,” he said as he left the restaurant. When another man asked him why, he replied, “Because I’m Jewish.”

On Sunday, June 30, a man wearing a kippah was seen entering his restaurant and leaving after a few minutes, claiming he was refused service apparently because he was Jewish.

A woman who appeared to be a waitress at the restaurant then asked them to leave the establishment.

Black and Jewish Unity, which posted the video on Instagram, wrote: “Last week, the owner of Mauro Café in West Hollywood blocked Jewish people from entering his place of worship. They were intimidated, harassed and hospitalized by a mob of pro-Palestinian activists.”

One of the employees, who apparently felt bad about what had happened, was seen in the video following the Jewish man and handing him a cup of coffee.

The restaurant is considered very popular with many celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Selma Blair, Christina Millan, Jaden Smith, Zendaya and Leonardo DiCaprio. It is located near the famous Fred Segal clothing store on Melrose and Crescent Heights.

On Monday afternoon, the usually crowded Mauro Café seemed emptier than usual. A few protesters, including one with an Israeli flag, stood outside the restaurant and explained to potential customers that this was an establishment whose owners openly displayed their hatred of Jews and their anti-Semitism.

The Jewish Journal attempted to contact the owner for comment, but Joan was unavailable.