A Colorado coffee chain’s sign appearing to celebrate the gentrification of one of Denver’s historically black neighborhoods sparked a backlash on social media Wednesday afternoon and calls for a boycott.

A sandwich board sign reading “Happily gentrifying the neighborhood since 2014” was photographed outside the ink! Coffee location near 29th and Larimer streets. The picture began circulating on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon after being included in a tweet by local writer and event organizer Ru Johnson. (Johnson has contributed to the Denver Post’s Reverb and The Know sections.)

yo @inkcoffee we are not cool with this sign on 29th and Larimer. Bad decision. Bad design. BAD. W.T.F. pic.twitter.com/81UkXfM9kh — La Pistola Superior (@theperfectRu) November 22, 2017

Johnson, who has an office in the neighborhood, said she did not take the photo but saw it on Facebook on Wednesday morning and decided to share it on her Twitter account to bring broader attention to it. She shared a photo of the opposite side of the sign with the Post on Wednesday night. It read, “Nothing says gentrification like being able to order a cortado.”

“My first reaction was, ‘Is this real?’ because it’s just so mind blowing,” said Johnson, noting the sign was ink-branded, not written on a chalkboard or in some other impermanent medium. “Their sign was almost like a poke in the eye for the people who have worked to make the community what it is, and a lot of those people have been pushed out. Who created this sign, sent it to manufacture and put in outside your business?”

Johnson’s tweet, sent out about 2 p.m. Wednesday, quickly caught the attention of many others who found the sentiment offensive. By 4:30 p.m. it had been liked more than 350 times and retweeted around 200 times. Reaction was universally bad.

“Seriously disgraceful & disrespectful to the actual local businesses & people that know the area @inkcoffee,” twitter user @NichieBabie wrote in response to Johnson’s photo.

The chain eventually responded with a series of apology tweets around 4:45 p.m.

We sincerely apologize for our street sign. Our (bad) joke was never meant to offend our vibrant and diverse community. — ink! Coffee (@inkcoffee) November 22, 2017

It also took to Facebook, posting the following just before 5 p.m.:

“Hmmm. We clearly drank too much of our own product and lost sight of what makes our community great. We sincerely apologize for our street sign. Our (bad) joke was never meant to offend our vibrant and diverse community. We should know better. We hope you will forgive us.”

Johnson wrote in a follow-up tweet that a skateboarder stole the sign later Wednesday. The Denver Post has not verified the theft, but other twitter users said the sign was not outside the shop when they went by.

For Johnson, the company’s social media apology rang hollow. She said it mimicked the tongue-in-cheek tone of the sign and made no mention of how the business plans to ensure such offensive behavior isn’t repeated in the future. If ink intends to make things right with its neighbors, she believes representatives from the business need to meet with community members and hear their concerns.

“Obviously, they feel like the people who frequent their business are happy about gentrification,” Johnson said. “They don’t see their customers as people who live in the community.”

No one answered the phone at ink’s Larimer Street location Wednesday afternoon. Its hours are listed online as 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The company issued a second apology Wednesday evening.

“Today we posted a sign that we now understand was offensive and disrespectful to many in our community. Quite simply, we failed. We failed our local community and the people who have supported us for 23 years. We offer a sincere and heartfelt apology to all of our loyal customers and dedicated employees,” Company founder Keith Herbert said in the emailed statement. “We have always been invested in supporting our local community and we will redouble our efforts to continue doing so.”

Social media’s ability to rapidly spread information means that countless people were made aware of the sign before ink issued its second apology. The website Trendsmap.com showed that tweets including @inkcoffee spiked significantly after Johnson’s tweet. As of 5 p.m., the company’s twitter handle had been used in tweets 990 times in the previous 24 hours.

The outrage spilled over onto Facebook, where the chain received an avalanche of poor reviews. Many advocated for boycotting the company.

“When the Joke falls on the back of black and brown people it’s no longer funny. Gentrification is never funny. Buy local, buy black, buy brown but stay away from this place.” Facebook user Ashle Mirahzh Mygatt wrote before giving the company one of its now more than 580 1-star Facebook reviews.

As of Wednesday evening, reviews no longer were appearing on the ink Facebook page.

Gentrification is a sore subject in many parts of Denver, as an influx of people moving to the city from elsewhere and a surge of new development drives up rents and homes prices and forces some longtime residents to consider moving from neighborhoods they have long called home. This is especially true in Five Points, an area that features of high number of black residents and black-owned businesses. A portion of the neighborhood was designated the River North Arts District in recent years and has seen a major increase in the number of new businesses and new development.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People sent an email to ink Wednesday evening requesting the sign be removed immediately and permanently.

“Your sign referenced above has been flagged as mocking of and hurtful to those, especially African Americans and other (People of Color), who have been forced to surrender their homes and businesses to deep pocket gentrification efforts in Denver’s central/downtown communities,” read the email signed by Rosemary Lytle, president of the NCAAP’s Colorado, Montana, Wyoming State Conference.

Ink got started in Aspen but has expanded rapidly in Denver in recent years to include 15 locations including the store on Larimer Street.