A weekend cookie sale outside a Thornton King Soopers ended abruptly for two teenage Girl Scouts who say store staff told them to pack up and leave almost as soon as they got started. The family says the encounter, which happened on Saturday, Feb. 28, has left them shaken and wondering if race factored into how they were treated.
Shuntail Taylor, mother of 14-year-old Maliyah Thomas and 13-year-old Dallas Taylor, told Denver7 that a store manager and a security guard approached within 20 minutes of the girls setting up outside the King Soopers. According to Taylor, the guard pointed out that the teens were not wearing their vests or sashes, and the manager then told them they needed to leave the property.
Taylor, who is training to become a police officer, said she complied with the request but found the tone of the interaction aggressive. The girls told the outlet the experience was upsetting, yet has not scared them off cookie sales. The Denver7 report also notes that the girls had already sold cookies at that same store on Feb. 21 and that Girl Scouts of Colorado told the family the location had been an approved cookie booth through Feb. 22.
Girl Scout booth rules
Officially, booth sales come with a detailed rulebook. Girl Scouts of the USA’s safety guidance says girls should “wear a membership pin, uniform, or Girl Scout clothing (e.g., Girl Scout T-shirt)” while working a cookie booth, and every booth location must be cleared in advance by the local council. Girl Scouts of the USA also instructs volunteers to comply immediately if a property manager or store asks a booth to leave, then report the incident to the council so the dispute can be sorted out behind the scenes.
Cookie season timing and stakes
In Colorado, the 2026 cookie season runs roughly from Feb. 1 through mid-March, a tight window when in-person booth sales can make or break a troop’s budget. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that those booth shifts are a major source of revenue for local troops. That financial reality helps explain why being turned away from a busy grocery store can hit a small or brand-new troop especially hard.
Store response and council outreach
A King Soopers representative said the company is reviewing what happened during the exchange, and Girl Scouts of Colorado has reached out to the family to offer support, according to Denver7. The dust-up is raising broader questions about how clearly store staff, security teams, and council leaders communicate about which booths are approved and how that information reaches newly registered scouts and their parents.
Despite the setback, the family is not backing away from cookie season. Maliyah told the outlet she plans to keep selling cookies, and Taylor said they are hoping for clearer booth sign-ups and better communication so other new troops do not end up in the same confusing spot. For now, both the council and King Soopers are looking into the incident while the troop carries on with its season.
