Coeur d’Alene frozen yogurt shop says Charlie Kirk cups are about Christianity, not politics

A Coeur d’Alene frozen yogurt shop is honoring Charlie Kirk months after his September assassination by printing a picture of him on froyo cups they say will help spread the word of God.

Chase Gibson and his wife, Sarah Gibson, are devout Christians who attend church at Candlelight Christian Fellowship in Coeur d’Alene. The two own a frozen yogurt shop called Grooveberries, on Main Street in Riverstone, that was featured on Fox News after printing on their froyo cups the face of the conservative political activist.

“As Christians, you’re called to spread the word of God no matter what you’re doing, and we felt that this was the appropriate thing we should do in the moment, after prayer,” Sarah said.

The frozen yogurt shop is unassuming, even with the poster of Kirk on its front door. The walls inside are pink, purple and white. There’s even a chalk art wall with two pinball games beside it. Sweet candy toppings for frozen yogurt are labeled decoratively. The store doesn’t have any Christian symbols in it.

Besides the poster on the front door of the shop, only one other thing stands out: the Christian music playing from the shop’s speakers.

“Before Charlie’s death, we were already trying to push Christianity in here, and I think people were really receiving it and not receiving it already,” Chase said. “We’re not trying to be pushy with Charlie. It’s just that’s who we support, and if people don’t like it, that’s OK.”

The shop offers a wide variety of cups , including a few of the original red cup with Kirk on it. The Gibsons have chosen to not feature Jesus in their store or on froyo cups because his image is a sacred one, Sarah said.

“I feel like that’s crossing a line, that’s just what my conviction tells me,” Sarah said.

Foot traffic and sales have gone up significantly since the Kirk cups were released, Sarah said, though she declined to share how much sales have increased. The affect the cups would have on sales was not something that the Gibsons discussed before putting them in the shop, Sarah said.

While the Gibsons say they align with Kirk politically, they say this move was meant to be focused on religion, not politics. Honoring Kirk means honoring Jesus, because Kirk stood for Christianity, Sarah said.

Sarah came up with the idea to feature Kirk on the cups the day after his death and to donate a portion of the income made from those cups to Turning Point USA, the nonprofit organization Kirk founded in 2012.

“My mom and I were just wondering, ‘How can we remember him and honor him in our business,’ which is a bold move, because our business is our livelihood,” Sarah said. “It was as simple as just a sticker with his name and his birth year to death year, just as a memoriam, and then we kind of evolved from there and started putting Bible verses on some of the stickers. We started selling stickers, some hoodies, shirts, stuff like that too, just because we got so many people wanting to participate in keeping his legacy alive.”

The Gibsons have been married for 10 years and have three children who are 9, 5 and 3. This winter, they employ six people in the shop.

The couple said they donated 25% of the proceeds from Kirk froyo cups to Turning Point USA until Kirk’s birthday on Oct. 14. Since then, Grooveberries donates 5% of proceeds made from Kirk froyo cups to the nonprofit. The Gibsons declined to share exactly how much money they’ve donated to Turning Point USA.

“It’s only right,” Sarah said. “There’s a lot that goes into running a business, and it wouldn’t be right for us to just take all the proceeds. A certain percent needs to go to the right initiative that we’re supporting. … We’re going to stand for what we know is true and trust God from there.”

The Gibsons recognize that Kirk is a controversial figure, but say the allegations of Kirk standing for homophobia, misogyny and racism are wrong.

“They’ll take Charlie’s podcasts and his speeches and sort of pick and pull what they want to and present it without viewing the whole video,” Chase said. “… He was just misunderstood. … He’s just trying to get people to go to the kingdom.”

The Gibsons have faced criticism for their support of Turning Point USA and Kirk, both online and in the shop. They’ve called the police after receiving death threats, Sarah said.

“It just makes me more sad to see so many people hurting enough to say some of those things that they say on social media,” Sarah said. “I just wish that everybody would turn to Christ, because they would lead a lot different of a life, if that was the case.”

But the Gibsons said they are committed to spreading Christianity and the message of Jesus Christ.

“We want to spread the word (of Christ), because I don’t think people will fully understand what He has done and necessarily be able to feel what I felt by giving my life to Him,” Chase said. “The only way to do that is to get his name out there. You just get very humble, turn more selfless through Jesus Christ. Honestly, you want to help others, and you turn away from yourself. And I’ve truly felt that in the last five years or so since I really did that.”