Cronut Crackdown: Maine Bakery Gets Cease-and-Desist From Pastry's NYC Creator

Call it a cronut at your own peril, the creator of the doughnut-croissant hybrid that's launched a nationwide craze is warning a small Maine bakery making knock-offs.

Little Bigs in South Portland, Maine, got a cease-and-desist letter ordering them to stop using the name for their hit pastry, similar to the cronut made famous by the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York.

Little Bigs had dubbed their creation the crauxnut. But that name didn't pass muster with lawyers for cronut creator Dominique Ansel, who has trademarked the cronut name. They said it was too similar to the original, NECN reported.

The owners handled the situation with humor and decided the best route to go was to change their pastry's name. Its new name: the C-and-D — for "cease and desist."

They told NECN they are just happy they can still keep making their version, which has become wildly popular. They can only make 130 of them each week, and pre-orders are filled all the way through Easter.

Contact Us