Mouse-Infested Cronut Bakery Reopens to Long Lines
Great news if you love novelty pastries, long lines, and mouse shit: Dominique Ansel Bakery, maker of the Cronut, reopened Tuesday morning, just four days after the New York Department of Health shut it down because of a "severe mouse infestation."
The Department of Health approved Dominique Ansel's changes, described in a statement as a "full reconstruction and re-cementing," and allowed the bakery to reopen Tuesday.
To celebrate, Dominique Ansel created a special, one-day-only Cronut, called the Rocky, which "is a symbol of [their] dedication and resilience." So brave, those bakers. Fans, of course, were eager for the new Cronut—or maybe just the old Cronuts—and were lined up outside the store before it opened.
The cronut-buying masses https://t.co/sx1voq0S9s
— Danielle Tcholakian (@danielleiat) April 8, 2014
Dominique Ansel greeting the line https://t.co/kwtUpFgEFc
— Danielle Tcholakian (@danielleiat) April 8, 2014
The bakery's statement on their reopening, from Gothamist:
Dear friends, What you see in the photo is us—the less than 20 members of the Dominique Ansel Bakery team in our Soho bakery. This is all of us. In the past year, we have woken up daily knowing that our success has made us vulnerable to more malicious attacks than any small, one-shop business should ever have to suffer.
But we refuse to believe that we live in a world where success turns people into targets of spite and contempt. We choose instead to believe that it has led us to so many of you, our adoring fans and customers whom have sent your support. Thank you for the hundreds of emails, calls, and personal letters we received.
We are deeply sorry for any disappointment that we may have caused you. Taking this opportunity, we have completely fortified our facilities with a full reconstruction and re-cementing, taking every issue seriously in an effort to provide an even more pristine environment for our guests. As you know, we cook in completely opened kitchens, so everything we do is in full view.
Looking forward, our hope is that honest, hard-working businesses should not have to face cruel and sensationalized attacks that are not framed in the proper context. And systems should not be abused to single-out any one business over another. We urge our customers to seek deeper details and answers before jumping to conclusions. And regardless of the hits, we will take every chance and criticism as a lesson learned and work harder to rise to the expectations you have of us and that we have of ourselves.
On Tuesday morning, we open our doors at 8 a.m. as usual. We are excited to welcome you back and looking forward to greeting you all personally, as we do every day. In the words of Rocky Balboa—whose theme song has been playing on our radio all weekend long while we worked to deliver everything that was required of us and more—getting hit and keep moving forward…that's how winning is done!"
[Image via AP]