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Columbus, Ohio (WCMH) — Baker is one of many titles for small business owners in Columbus, known for its specialty cookies. He’s also a drag queen and a Food Network contestant.
Canton native Alex Copeland, owner of Plenty O’Cookies, is a local baker who specializes in an array of cookies decorated with unique designs to celebrate various holidays, seasons and occasions. Inspired by Copland’s drag his persona, Plentio Smiles, this small business has been baking bread in central Ohio since 2014.
Copeland has a customer base in Central Ohio with thousands of followers on Instagram and Facebook. However, he was initially worried that customers would reject the drag queen as the face of Plenty of Cookies.
“I was afraid to do it because I thought people wouldn’t like drag queens as part of the business,” Copeland said. “My personality as Alex is the same as my personality in drag, so it was really easy to cross both.
Today, Copeland is meeting demand by operating an online shop where customers can place orders. Hundreds of designs, including pop culture inspired cookies and designs to celebrate Valentine’s Day, baby showers, Halloween, birthdays, New Year’s Eve, weddings and more.
A lifelong baker, Copland wanted to make the most of his passion after a year of pursuing drag. He started selling cookies at a local market once a week while he practiced designing and expanding his portfolio.
Word of mouth spread, and Copeland began receiving many orders from central Ohio. Copeland’s cookies propelled him to the Food His network in 2017 to compete with bakers across North America in Season 3 of “Christmas His Cookie Challenge.”
For many customers, Copeland said they were the first drag queen they ever interacted with. He is grateful for the opportunity to introduce his LGBTQ+ community to so many people and hopes he can join in the fight against negative stereotypes.
“I’ve had people reach out to me through social media saying, ‘My kid is coming out. Do you have any resources?'” Copeland said. Some have been,” he said. “It’s been really cool to introduce people to the world of drugs, to the LGBTQ+ community.”
To further his mission, Copeland teaches cookie decorating skills through workshops at homes and colleges across the county. Additionally, Copeland is available for his private decoration party in Central Ohio.
Learn more and order Plenty O’Cookies here.
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