Gideon's Bakehouse coming to Disney Springs

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

Huge huge fan of their cookies even though I've only ever had them secondhand - meaning brought back cross-country from someone else's trip or shipped to me.

I've had them less than 2 days old (heavenly) and more than 10 days old (their chocolate blooms pretty quickly but the cookies are still quite good) and keep them frozen in my freezer for months at a time and they keep super well!

I dream of someday having an actual fresh one but alas the budget doesn't permit the trip for the foreseeable future. So I'm grateful for secondhand Gideon's. lol

Admittedly I've quickly become fond of the new Costco cookies, but they're still not in the same league as Gideon's - though thankfully they're easier to get!

 

[Gringrinngghost]

whilst I can’t confirm the veracity of this, this has recently popped up on my feeds.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

…now I’m hungry for cookies

 

[pigglewiggle]

whilst I can’t confirm the veracity of this, this has recently popped up on my feeds.

Did you read the full letter? I can't tell if this is a joke or not, it was that unprofessional. I'm certainly not denying there may be real issues that need to be addressed, but this was not the way to do it.

 

[UNCgolf]

Did you read the full letter? I can't tell if this is a joke or not, it was that unprofessional. I'm certainly not denying there may be real issues that need to be addressed, but this was not the way to do it.

I'd be surprised if it wasn't serious, but I hope it was drafted by a teenager. Some of the complaints are definitely legitimate if true, but a few are kind of silly, and the whole thing reads like something from Reddit.

 

[Disney Analyst]

whilst I can’t confirm the veracity of this, this has recently popped up on my feeds.

It’s certainly picking up steam now.

 

[MagicRat]

Keep in mind this is same place that mysteriously closed during the beginning of the pandemic. No explanations just closed and then reopened a few weeks later.

I have walked by it many times but I am proud to have never walked in the place or spend a penny.

 

[lazyboy97o]

If they are really only being paid $8.95 per hour then that is a definite issue. Minimum wage in Florida is currently $12.00 per hour for non-tipped positions and $8.98 for tipped positions.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

If they are really only being paid $8.95 per hour then that is a definite issue. Minimum wage in Florida is currently $12.00 per hour for non-tipped positions and $8.98 for tipped positions.

Then there’s the claim they can’t solicit for tips anymore, which should put them to the non-tipped minimum wage.

 

[Prince-1]

I have walked by it many times but I am proud to have never walked in the place or spend a penny.

What a weird thing to say? Why would you be proud to not spend money in a store that sells cookies??

 

[Brian]

Some of these grievances are legitimate, but others are just petty, and when coupled with the hyperbolic language they used, it makes it harder for me to sympathize with them.

For example, threatening to "topple [the] cookie castle permanently" if they are forced to shake cold brew drinks is a really bad look. Don't like having to make cold brew? Quit. Sadly, things like that take away from their very legitimate food safety, life safety, and employment law complaints.

 

[MagicRat]

What a weird thing to say? Why would you be proud to not spend money in a store that sells cookies??

Because of their current and past business practices. Add to it, I don’t eat sweets. I would rather have a cold beer from a respectable establishment.

 

[Prince-1]

Because of their current and past business practices. Add to it, I don’t eat sweets. I would rather have a cold beer from a respectable establishment.

So far these are just allegations unless they have other skeletons in their closet that I am not aware of. I don't drink beer but it would be weird if I said that I am proud to have never walked into a place that serves it. Again, quite weird but hey you be you.

 

[DCBaker]

Steve, the owner of Gideon's Bakehouse, has responded with this on Instagram.

 

[mkt]

Steve, the owner of Gideon's Bakehouse, has responded with this on Instagram.

View attachment 785466

If a single part of a statement is a lie, the entire statement is a lie. Everything in there needs to be true.

Florida's interesting. Namely, almost every government transactions - including health & safety inspections in food and beverage establishments - are public record.

So, as far as their claim of having failed inspections, it's only technically true, since there's no public record of them ever having been inspected. So we don't know whether or not they're operating to the standards required.

What we do know through those same public records search is that they've been late in paying their tax bill before.

 

[Doberge]

Overall, it seems like one takeaway is that tips are generous and that workers want a higher minimum wage to add on top but I don't know how much sympathy they'll garner there, especially in a shopping area with retail workers with less take home. Places without much tipping are paid more either because they have to by statute (like a job with no tips) or because they need to to be competitive. In all, comparative take home pay is probably the best way to compare across opportunities, and that seems to be an argument Gideons will make.

So if take home is more than double $8.95 then it's at least $17.90. Likely includes tips and, if take home, would not include anything taken out for taxes and benefits. That floor doesn't seem so bad when having full benefits.

 

[MK-fan]

The owner said they pay double this, it would be a very dumb move if his statement wasn’t true. This place always seems to have a huge line out the door, they deserve more than minimum wage.

 

[pigglewiggle]

"blinded by their gaslighting" "narcissistic". All the buzz words.
Again, there may be legitimate issues, but this just makes it all seem so silly. The font, the name, the drama.

I'm sure there are records of the pay, so if the owner is lying, they will be caught.

We watched this happen to a business near us, destroyed by claims from a past employee. I hate to say it, but once the word is out, it's very hard to prove that it didn't happen the way the past employee (or current) claims.

Hoping for a resolution all can be happy with.

 

[Brian]

 

[Brian]

Instead of all this hyperbole, hand wringing and pettiness, why not just submit the legitimate complaints such as food safety, rate of pay, harassment (on the basis of membership in a 'protected class') and fire code compliance to the relevant authorities? If things are truly as bad as they claim they are, I'm certain they will spring into action.

That they haven't done that already and are instead mounting this smear campaign reeks.