Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
"Drunken Negro Face" Cookie Baker Visited By Secret Service, Black Panthers
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 26, 2009
Modified Feb 26, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 26, 2009
Modified Feb 26, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It's been over a month since Greenwich Village baker Ted Kefalinos sparked outrage over his so-called "Drunken Negro Face" cookies, and the controversy will still not go away, despite his fumbling attempts to apologize. The New Black Panthers have been protesting on Saturdays outside his bakery, and the Secret Service paid him a visit because of his alleged remarks that "Obama will get he deserves, just like Lincoln." In a Villager article that can only be described as pure gold, Kefalinos says, "I get both sides. I get people who praise me and call me genius. I even got one guy who wanted to send 100 drunk Negroes to beat me into submission — and he was going to video it...There’s one guy who calls himself Denzel Washington. He wanted me to personally apologize for the cookie. I hung up on him. "
Naturally, My Fox NY's Arnold Diaz, who broke the story with in one of his classic "Shame" segments, has been following up, and reports that State Senator Thomas Duane pressured Kefalinos to take a racial sensitivity training session. But Duane says, "He really needs to undergo much more sensitivity training because I'm not sure that he's completely got the message yet. If he doesn't... the marketplace will put him out of business." (Watch the video below.)
Kefalinos insists business is back to normal after a brief backlash, although neighboring retailers are tired of the Saturday Panther protests. At their urging, he posted a long apology on the bakery window, which reads, in part, "To the people who perceived our product was offensive... I apologize for the error in judgment... What I saw as a flower, you saw as a thorn, based on cross cultural differences."
That's not going to cut it with New Black Panther leader Shaka Shakur, who tells the Villager, "We want to get this pushed all the way to being a hate crime." During a recent protest, Shakur noticed an Asian sushi chef outside Funayama restaurant next door, and warned, "He made a cookie about me — he’ll make one about you." Shakur says he'll call off the protest if Kefalinos makes a donation to the Harlem school he founded, Gyenyama University. When a reporter explained the proposal to Kefalinos, he replied, "Pay him off? You mean extortion? I already apologized. ... To get on my knees? I’ll never get on my knees."
Despite the fact that Kefalinos attended the elite Bronx High School of Science, there's a general consensus among customers that he's a little off. One neighbor says, "He’s not very smart. He thinks he’s funny. He’ll make a green St. Patrick’s Day cookie and say, ‘Have a cookie with your beer!’ But you can’t joke with everyone. I know he’s not prejudiced. He’s like a failed comedian. He’s dumb. He’s dumb, that’s all." As if eager to live up to his reputation, Kefalinos recently reminisced about his controversial cookie: "To me, I liked it. I thought it was cute. But you can’t say that — it winds it all up again." Ha, you know what also "winds it all up again"? Kefalinos opening his mouth!
Tagged
baker
cookie
Drunken Negro Face
obama
secret service
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .