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Coping Cookies — baked with a pinch of support for good causes — now open on 12th Ave

(Image: Coping Cookies)

(Image: Coping Cookies)

(Image: Coping Cookies)

By Kali Herbst Minino

Serving cookies with flavors like Cocolemon, containing coconut, lemon, and white chocolate chips, a queer and woman-owned dessert shop has newly joined the Capitol Hill small business community. Co-owners and life partners Sam Padilla and Ashley Hernandez opened Coping Cookies on 12th Ave this week.

The company started in July 2020 as a bake sale for Hernandez’s coworkers at the Seattle Children’s Hospital. Her coworkers “bought” cookies by donating to different grassroots non-profit organizations. The sale was intended to be one-and-done, but as word spread around the mental health unit, more coworkers asked if she’d be selling them again. The second sale was bigger than the first, and eventually, the couple was selling their cookies at pop-ups around Seattle.

“Word just started spreading around the psych unit. They started sending [cookies] to their moms in other cities, sharing with their friends,” Hernandez said. “It kind of snowballed.”

With their founding theme of donating to non-profits, Coping Cookies donates a portion of its earnings to non-profits that align with the company’s values.

(Image: Coping Cookies)

A new organization is chosen on a quarterly basis, and Coping Cookies examines potential non-profits to support by examining their finances, assessing the board of directors, and investigating how the organizations interact on social media accounts.

Their non-profit this quarter is yet to be announced, but the list of many organizations includes The WA Therapy Fund, Fed Up Collective, and Stonewall Youth.

With the addition of Coping Cookies, cookie lovers around the Hill and the Central District have a healthy selection of cookie-dedicated bakeries to visit. The leader of the cookie pack is the original Hello Robin which is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary after opening on 19th Ave E in late 2013. Lowrider Baking Company followed on E Union in 2019. Meanwhile, Alexandra’s Macarons opened at 18th and Union in 2020.

On 12th Ave, Hernandez described setting up Coping’s storefront as their biggest project yet, one that involved labor like peeling off tile and repainting the ceiling. Their next project is getting used to the flow of a storefront instead of a pop-up.

While the shop continues to develop, and new non-profits are chosen, the two are looking forward to taking a moment of rest and meeting locals in the area.

“We’re ready to remember names, see our regulars, and be a solid part of the community,” Hernandez said.

Coping Cookies is located at 1828 12th Ave Suite B. Learn more at copingcookies.com.

 

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Ariel
11 months ago

Coping Cookies has done pop-ups at my gym (Rain City Fit) and I can confirm that the cookies are beyond delicious… And I love the company values! 🍪🍪