Buckeye baker grateful for support after client cancels order because of race

BUCKEYE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - A West Valley baker says she was discriminated against and lost business because of her race. A customer told the small business owner, Victoria Hernandez, who’s Mexican-American, that she’d rather get her cake from Americans. Hernandez is the owner of Mariah’s Butterfly Bakery in Buckeye.

The text conversation went viral after a client canceled her order for her daughter’s birthday cake because of Hernandez’s race. The client wrote to Hernandez, saying, “..I was under the impression I was supporting a fellow American small business. I see by your pictures that you are Mexican. And I can’t support you when there’s other hard-working Americans trying to make it I’d rather support.”

Hernandez is Mexican-American, a born and raised citizen of this country. She simply replied by canceling the order, saying she didn’t want to meet hate with more hate or even share her name or phone number with the public.

“I think the one thing that is most important for something like that that has that anger or says something really hateful toward you for something that’s out of your control to still meet them with the grace and dignity then you would want,” said Hernandez.

Hernandez said after she posted the conversation on social media, she was met with support and more orders than before it happened. “If there is one person wants to say something so hateful there is hundreds and hundreds of people trying to lift you up saying ‘Hey that’s not how we feel, that’s not right’ and I think that right there is a real characteristic of what America is,” said Hernandez.

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