If you are Canadian or an American living within 4-6 hours of the Canadian border, it is probable that you have at some point been to or at the very least heard of Tim Horton’s. It’s the go-to establishment for coffee, timbits (which is Canadian for “doughnut holes”) and interaction with other human beings in this cold cruel world. And starting now, it is yet another sphere in which lesbians are unwelcome!

Riley Duckworth and her partner Patricia Pattenden were semiregular customers of a Blenheim, Ontario Tim Horton’s. One day in early October, they were “outside drinking coffee with a group of family and friends” which really sounds like an idyllic Tim Horton’s commercial, no? Apparently the franchise felt differently. The couple reported that they saw a man watching them from inside the restaurant as they had their arms around each other’s waists and “kissed on the cheek once or twice.” A few minutes later, a manager came outside and told them to leave in the next five minutes or he’d call the cops. “The manager said that our behaviour was inappropriate and that it was a family friendly establishment and it wasn’t acceptable there,” Duckworth said.”

Not wanting to “create a scene,” the couple left. Not before a local pastor held a prayer circle in the parking lot, however, with the apparent goal of praying for the couple’s souls. (Some reports say the pastor in question was Rev. Eric Revie of Glad Tidings Community Church.) Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005 – how is it possible that a young couple still can’t get a cup of coffee without inciting an as-of-yet-unconfirmed gay panic prayer circle and being kicked out?

Tim Hortons’ response has been mixed; on the one hand, they never meant to “offend or target anyone based on their sexual orientation,” but still maintain that “The guests’ behaviour went beyond public displays of affection and was making other guests feel uncomfortable.” Although the store says it’s apologized to the couple and invited them back, Duckworth says she hasn’t been contacted directly by anyone from Tim Horton’s, and is never going back to any of the company’s franchises.

What’s the reaction been? The Canadian Press says a demonstration is scheduled for this week, Thursday the 27th:

A Facebook group was created Sunday evening calling for a demonstration outside the outlet on Thursday that will be attended by friends, family and supporters including members of Pride Chatham-Kent. By late Monday morning, several hundred people had joined the Facebook group.

The demonstration is being called (at least by some) Occupy Timmies. The London Free Press says that it may even spread beyond Blenheim:

Organizers of the protest, called Occupy Timmies, say the manager talked to the couple after a local minister “stared them down,” complained to the manager and held an impromptu prayer service for the couple in the parking lot… Those who can’t make it are being urged to protest outside Tim Hortons in their own city as a show of solidarity. Staff at the Blenheim Tim Hortons referred calls to the chain’s head office.

Back in 2009, Tim Horton’s participated in an event called “Celebrate Marriage & Family Day” with none other than the National Organization for marriage, providing 250 free cups of coffee. However, they pulled out after receiving criticism for partnering with an anti-gay organization; they claimed they had been unaware of NOM’s mission. It wasn’t exactly their anti-gay policies that caused Tim Horton’s to withdraw, however; instead, they explained in a statement that they didn’t sponsor or support “political organizations” and NOM fell “outside their sponsorship guidelines.”

While Tim Horton’s is a privately owned establishment (a subsidiary of a US firm, in fact), it’s also Canada’s largest fast-food establishment, and has been described as a “Canadian cultural icon.” Is this enough to cause a rift between Canada’s most beloved coffee purveyor and the LGBT community? It’s certainly done so for Duckworth and Pattenden, who say they’re not willing to forgive and forget anytime soon. “We want to make sure this won’t happen again to anybody else because it’s wrong and it should have never happened in the first place.”

UPDATE: Rev. Eric Revie has shared that he in fact mistook Duckworth and Pattenden for a heterosexual couple, and was complaining to the manager about PDA in general, not acting out of homophobia. He also says that what Duckworth and Pattenden described as a prayer circle was actually “parents chatting.” He’s received threats since this story broke, and still maintains that the women “had hands on body parts they shouldn’t have,” while “Duckworth said Pattenden’s mother was sharing the bench with the couple so they wouldn’t have dreamed of doing anything offensive.”