Cookie shop hidden inside Brooklyn gyro restaurant becomes viral sensation
The cookie shop is run by 25-year-old Muhaed Ali.
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Tucked inside a longtime gyro restaurant in Brooklyn’s Kensington neighborhood, Pookie Bakery, has become a viral sensation on social media.
The cookie shop is run by 25-year-old Muhaed Ali.
He said it all started as a passion for baking, and Ali trying to come up with the best chocolate chip cookie recipe for friends and family.
He eventually put a few cookies out for sale at his family's restaurant, where his late father and older brother have operated the business for nearly two decades.
The cookies sold out almost immediately.
Today, Ali says Pookie Bakery produces between 1,500 and 2,000 cookies each day, along with homemade soft serve ice cream.
His brother said demand grew so quickly that the family kept investing in larger ovens and more equipment, but the cookies continued to sell out.
The bakery's name comes from a nickname Ali gave his niece.
Despite the bakery's rapid growth, Ali still works a full-time job. His days begin early, baking cookies before work, followed by a full-time shift, then a return to the bakery, where he often works until after 1 a.m.
Videos of Pookie Bakery's cookie tins and desserts have racked up millions of views online, drawing customers from across the tristate area and beyond.
Ali said seeing people travel to Kensington for his cookies has been one of the most rewarding parts of the experience.
"People always tell me they like to come to the city," he said. "Now the city's coming to us."
The growing popularity has also benefited the family's restaurant.
"Before, our customers were buying cookies," Ali's brother said. "Now his cookie customers are buying gyros."
