“A mob is coming,” said a Disney Springs security team member to Steve Lewis. It was December 2020, and the second Gideon’s Bakehouse location was about to open at Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida. Traffic was backed up for miles, and those who did park ran into Disney Springs before it was open.

By the time it opened at 9:00AM, the line stretched through the entirety of Disney Springs property.

By 10:30AM, there was an eight-hour wait.

By 11:30AM, the wait was 12 hours. For a cookie.

But not just any cookie. A half-pound chocolate chip cookie that Steve, the founder of Gideon’s Bakehouse, spent 15 years creating.