Antoine Lee was sure he was mistaken when he saw a music legend walk into his Prince George’s County, Maryland, bakery this week.
But there he was — signed, sealed, delivered: Stevie Wonder.
Wonder and his wife, Prince George’s County native Tomeeka Robyn Bracy, stopped by Pro Cakes — located inside the Iverson Mall in Temple Hills — on Tuesday.
“I saw three individuals standing there — one of them had long dreads, and I said to myself, ‘Is that Stevie Wonder?'” Lee, the owner of Pro Cakes, told WTOP.
Lee reviewed the security tapes, got a closer look and, sure enough, it was Wonder.
“‘Why would he be in Iverson Mall?’ That’s what I’m thinking in my head,” Lee said.
It turns out that Wonder and Bracy were in the market for a specific baked good.
“His wife had come in the day before and she liked the cookie so much she decided to have him come back,” Lee said.
The cookie in question? Pro Cakes’ snickerdoodle.
“The cookies Stevie liked are the snickerdoodles. They are very popular right now,” Lee said. “At Pro Cakes, we make all of our cookies fresh from scratch, and we use brown sugar for our cookie dough. That sets us apart from our competitors.”
Lee said he can’t settle on his favorite song in Wonder’s discography: “Honestly, I just hit the play button and just keep ’em rolling.”
And now he has another reason to be a fan — Wonder left a $100 tip for the Pro Cakes staff.
Now that the video of Stevie’s appearance has gone viral, customers have been asking a lot of questions about Pro Cakes’ famous customer.
“I wouldn’t say this is where celebrities hang out,” Lee said, laughing. “No, the prices are not going up.”
Lee has owned Pro Cakes for the last six years and describes the experience as a dream come true, saying Wonder’s visit is a cherry on top.
“This kinda feels like a dream, to be honest,” Lee said as he stood behind the counter of Pro Cakes.
This isn’t Wonder’s first time charming D.C.-area audiences. In 2015, he performed a five-song set as part of a free pop-up show at the D.C. Armory Mall.
Beyond Wonder’s musical success, including his stature as the most-awarded male solo artist in Grammys history, he is widely recognized for his civil rights activism and is known to blend his artistic and political pursuits. His 1980 rendition of “Happy Birthday” was influential in the establishment of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as a federal holiday. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.
“It was good to have such a legendary figure show up at this mall the day before Juneteenth,” Lee said. “I mean, it was perfect timing.”
WTOP’s Jimmy Alexander contributed to this report.
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