Inner West Cafe Closes After Trump-Loving Owner’s Homophobic Rant

An inner west Sydney cafe has closed only weeks after first opening its doors, with its Trump-loving owner blaming “snowflakes” for its failure to thrive.

Former Australian Idol contestant, Mark Da Costa, opened Bueno Eatery in St Peters on March 19, at the site of beloved inner-west institution Khamsa, which closed after the landlord hit the family business with an annual rent increase of almost $50,000.

Bueno isn’t Da Costa’s first attempt at establishing himself in the hospitality industry. He attracted criticism in 2020 after announcing his vegan restaurant in Waterloo was a “Donald Trump safe zone”.

“The leftist vegans aren’t welcome,” he wrote on the cafe’s Facebook page at the time.

“The gay community who were quick to judge even though we supported them during the plebiscite aren’t welcome. We only want free thinking kind people who enjoy plant-based food and nothing else.”

The restaurant was quickly closed following his outburst.

Third time’s the charm?

In a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald in March, Da Costa said his comments five years ago were “childish to say the least”.

“I don’t participate in political matters any more and will only concern myself with providing the locals and Sydney an eatery where they can feel like the food adds value to their own personal health goals,” he said.

However, after only six weeks in St Peters, Da Costa was forced to close Bueno’s doors, and took to social media to air his complaints.

“We closed. Yeah, we can’t survive in an area where people can’t figure out if they are male, female, dogs or cats,” he wrote.

“Unfortunately the owner’s views are simple. You got a dick you’re male, you got a muff you’re a female.

“What you think you are should be respected, but you cannot force that upon others. You must equally have respect for what other people believe to be truth.”

Da Costa changed Bueno’s Instagram bio to say “fuck you all”, before deleting the pages entirely.

Speaking to news.com.au following the incident, Da Costa claimed Newtown was “infested with rats and hairy men.”

“Releasing a song about it in June… so that you can be offended by it. Fuckin snowflakes. The lot of them,” he said.