Megi Endeladze, owner of Penny's Coffee Shop in Buffalo, New York, faced significant criticism from customers after using ChatGPT to create a menu poster. The decision to use AI was made to save time while managing the shop and caring for a newborn baby, following the departure of a staff member with hand-lettering skills.
Coffee Shop Owner Faces Backlash After Using ChatGPT for Menu Poster
After posting the poster to Instagram, the shop received numerous negative direct messages and lost approximately 100 followers. Endeladze reported receiving threats from a high-profile account, which demanded the sign be removed or the business face backlash from the local artist community.
In response to the criticism, Endeladze issued an apology on Instagram, stating that the coffee shop would no longer use AI for artwork or promotional designs. She also expressed frustration regarding the intensity of the personal attacks and emphasized the difficulty of balancing business operations with motherhood.
Sources
- A coffee shop owner used AI to make a menu poster. Then came the angry DMs （Hacker News Frontpage, 2026-09-16）