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Bed-Stuy cookie shop struggling through pandemic receives $25K

A Bed-Stuy cookie business impacted by the coronavirus pandemic has received some financial relief.

News 12 Staff

Jan 22, 2021, 1:56 PM

Updated 1,412 days ago

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A Bed-Stuy cookie business impacted by the coronavirus pandemic has received some financial relief.
Shalonda Vasquez, owner of Sofia and Grace Cookie Company, says cookies are her passion.
"I love to bake. I love cookies. Everybody loves cookies. From making cookies with my grandma throughout my childhood and it's something that I love to do," Vasquez says.
The cookie shop, named after her daughters, opened back in 2017, but when the pandemic took over the city - Vasquez's shop was hit hard.
"It's an uncertain time, so, of course, we were literally lost. We didn't know what to do, we lost a lot of business. We're actually DOE vendors. That was cut," Vasquez explains.
But now there is relief for Vasquez after she received $25,000 from Discover, which committed $5 million to support 200 Black-owned restaurants that are struggling with hardships brought on by the pandemic.
"We were just so happy 'cause we were able to pay the bills that we were behind in, rent, to order materials, ingredients for the store," Vasquez says.
She adds that she was very surprised when she won this award, and is very happy that she will to continue making her cookies for her community.