Cronut Creator Demands Northern Louisiana Pastry Name-Change

A northwest Louisiana restaurant’s croissant-doughnut hybrid is getting a new name – Juggernut, Highlander or Steve.

Lizz Bowen and her husband, Scott Roebuck, got a cease-and-desist letter last week from Cronut creator Dominique Ansel, telling them that their Sevendipity Cafe in Shreveport’s Highland neighborhood cannot use any variation of his trademarked name.

Using a string of letters often pronounced “oh” in Louisiana names, Bowen and Roebuck had been calling the pastries creaux-nuts.

Bowen uses the restaurant’s bread dough for her flaky pastry rings. Toppings change day to day; sometimes the pastries are also filled. Last week’s included peanut butter and chocolate; lemon with blueberries; and cream cheese with nutella frosting and fresh strawberries.

Bowen said she was thrilled that the New York pastry chef knows about her variation, but was perplexed by his reaction.

“To think that the original creator of the Cronut that is so popular cares what I’m doing in Shreveport baffles me,” she told The Times. “I couldn’t believe it.”

The couple is holding a name-the-pastry contest on the cafe’s Facebook page. Entries included Fais-do-donut, 7Nut, and Dippity-Dough-Dah.

Bowen announced the three finalists Sunday night. They’ll be re-posted as three separate messages; whichever gets the most “likes” will win.

The winner will get a whatever-the-name-turns-out-to-be every day for a year.