Saffron Restaurant and Lounge plans to close its location at 1107 N. Palm Canyon Drive on October 3 and relocate, ending its current tenancy after a dispute with the property's owners over a Pride-themed poster displayed in the front window. The restaurant has not announced its next address. KESQ reported that Saffron expects to reopen roughly two months later in a nearly completed space with seating for up to 172 guests, covered parking and a new menu.
The move follows months of disagreement over the sign, which co-owner Ashley Stein has described as an invitation to LGBTQ+ customers. NBC Palm Springs reported that the poster went up in August 2025 and that Stein said the owners later repeatedly asked her to remove it.
Stein told KESQ that the disagreement sharpened in June when, in her account, a proposed lower summer rent rate was tied to removing the poster. The property's co-owner, Amy Brinkman, disputed that the LGBTQ+ message was the issue and said the owners' concerns involved lease provisions concerning common areas and the building's appearance. Those are competing accounts; the available reporting does not include the lease text or establish which interpretation would prevail.
The dispute also includes an unresolved financial claim. KESQ reported that the landlord said Saffron owed more than $100,000 in back rent, while the property-management side later cited $140,000. Saffron's co-owners had not publicly addressed those figures in the report, and the available record does not establish whether the alleged debt has been settled or whether either side plans further legal action.
Why the dispute resonated locally
The controversy became a public issue beyond the lease itself. NBC Palm Springs reported that desert residents and local advocates gathered outside Saffron in solidarity after the removal request became public.
That reaction reflects Palm Springs' long-documented LGBTQ+ civic history: Palm Springs Pride says the city's first Pride event was organized in 1986. The area's visitor economy also gives disputes involving hospitality businesses a broader commercial backdrop. Visit Greater Palm Springs reports that tourism generated $9.6 billion in total economic impact in 2025 and supported approximately one in four regional jobs. Neither figure, however, shows that the tourism economy caused Saffron's relocation or resolves the parties' lease disagreement.
A comparison, with limits
A separate California controversy illustrates why Pride-related displays can become business stories, but it is not a direct precedent for Saffron. The Guardian reported on April 10, 2026, that San Francisco-based Philz faced criticism over plans to remove Pride flags from its California stores while saying its support for LGBTQIA+ people had not changed. Philz involved a chain-wide decor decision, whereas Saffron involves one restaurant, one property and disputed lease conditions; the example therefore shows a similar public sensitivity around Pride visibility, not a shared legal or business outcome.
For now, the confirmed development is Saffron's planned October 3 departure and intended reopening elsewhere. The next location, the status of the alleged back rent and the final resolution of the poster dispute remain unknown.
