Black-Owned Vegan Cookie Brand Comes Back From Brink of Closure With Storefront in San Diego

Today, vegan cookie company Maya’s Cookies is opening a storefront in San Diego, CA. In addition to the new storefront, the company sells its handmade gourmet cookies online with nationwide delivery, at farmers’ markets, and in select local retailers. The new boutique-sized store is at the front of the company’s production kitchen space. The opening day menu consists of vegan cookies in flavors such as Chocolate Chip S’mores, Marble Fudge, Birthday Cake, Caramel Pecan, Snickerdoodle, as well as the recently launched “The Obama” (named after former First Lady Michelle Obama); pre-made cookie dough in Gingerbread and Chocolate Chip flavors; and Kula ice cream pints made by a local female artisan. For the storefront, Maya’s plans to work with local and national partners to create special in-store events, showcase partner products, and feature exclusive flavors and merchandise. 

“Opening a storefront has been long requested and I’m so excited to finally be ready to bring the vision to life,” Maya’s Cookies founder Maya Madsen told VegNews. “One of the things I learned over the summer was how important connecting to our community is. There is such satisfaction in meeting our fans and customers first-hand. I always say that ‘cookies make people happy’ and it is pretty awesome to see it in person.”

Earlier this year, Maya’s was hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the company to let go of about half of its employees. Since then, it has witnessed a 10,000-percent spike in sales following the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. The company has ramped up production to accommodate the new level of volume, including doubling the size of its kitchen, securing a warehouse and shipping facility, and increasing its staff.