Kingston, New York Bakery Raises over $15,000 for Local Food Pantry
A local bakery feud with a popular talk show host has come to an end.
Thousands of dollars were raised for a wonderful local organization after Deising's Bakery and John Oliver went back and forth on social media in June of 2024.
And it started because of Red Lobster...
Remember When John Oliver Bought Out the Kingston, NY Red Lobster?
This all began when Red Lobster announced they were closing many locations after filing for bankruptcy. One of those locations was the Red Lobster in Kingston, New York.
After the abrupt closure, the equipment inside the Red Lobster in Ulster County was auctioned off. It wasn't available for long as the staff from John Oliver's Last Week Tonight on HBO purchased all the equipment for a segment where they recreated the Kingston location:
It turned into a whole feud after the staff at the very popular Diesing's Bakery in the heart of Kingston allegedly asked for the equipment first.
Owner Eric Diesing said that he had left a note on the Red Lobster door essentially calling "dibs" on the equipment.
Deising's Bakery Creates John Oliver Cake For Great Cause
Diesing and Oliver went back and forth a few times, but then a truce was made. John Oliver said he would buy the equipment that Deising needed, but the bakery had to make a John Oliver Bear Cake.
We spoke with Pete Deising who told us Oliver must have read a review about a bear cake they made in the past. So, the baker got to work.
They created a "beary" cute cake (with some extra junk in the trunk, as requested by Oliver) and put them up for sale at the bakery. The proceeds from the cakes sold would go to People's Place, a local nonprofit food pantry in Kingston.
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The Ulster County Chamber of Commerce shared this week that Diesing's Bakery presented a check to the People's Place for $15,181. Needless to say, the John Oliver Bear Cakes were a success.
What Should Replace New York Red Lobster Locations?
As we mentioned earlier, this wild chain of events all started back in May of 2024. That's when we received the news that Red Lobster would be closing over 80 locations across the US.
2 of them being located in the Hudson Valley.
I recently passed the Poughkeepsie location and there is now a big 'For Sale' sign out front. Now that it's official, what should replace Red Lobster in our region? Here are some ideas we've come up with so far:
6 Restaurants That Should Replace Red Lobster in New York
Gallery Credit: Getty Images/Canva/Google Maps
Has John Oliver stepped foot in the Hudson Valley, as of right now? No. But maybe he'll show up at Deising's in the future: