LUFKIN, Texas (KXAN) — When an east Texas bakery unveiled a batch of heart-shaped, rainbow-iced cookies in honor of Pride Month, it didn’t expect to cook up controversy.
The owners of Confections, an independent bakery in Lufkin, say they received significant backlash after posting a photo of the cookies — including lost social media followers and, more troubling, canceled business.
“Today has been hard. Really hard,” reads a Facebook post from Thursday. “… My heart is heavy. Honestly, I never thought a post that literally said ‘more love, less hate’ would result in this kind of backlash to a very small business that is struggling to stay afloat and spread a little cheer through baked goods.”
Confections owners, sisters Dawn and Miranda, said one customer canceled a five-dozen cookie order that had already been baked, decorated and was set to be picked up the following day.
But when news of the incident spread, Confections was met with yet another surprise: overwhelming support. The next day, the small bakery had a big line extending around the block. The unexpected outpouring was so great, they were forced to close early in order to meet demand.
“We’ve sold out. All this attention on our small business is very humbling… in the 11 years we’ve been open, we’ve never seen anything quite like this,” Dawn wrote via Facebook.
Dawn says near the end of the day on Saturday, they’d run out of items to sell — so customers donated to the charity of the sisters’ choice, local animal rescues.
The sisters say they appreciate the support and are doing their best to keep up. They’re also still baking the rainbow cookie. Their most recent Facebook post signs off: “More love. Less hate. Always.”