Divorcing couple fighting over crumbling NYC bakery business

The husband and wife team behind the super successful Thin Cookies are at war over dough.

Yoseph Raja and Zohal Azimi Raja, whose marriage is in the weeds, built a cookie business with two popular stores — one on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village and the other in Hicksville, Long Island.

But now their cookie empire is crumbling.

The couple opened the Bleecker Street store in Greenwich Village in 2025. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post

A lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court alleges Azimi is sabotaging it and has withdrawn more than $100,000 from the company bank accounts for her own use.

She is also accused of seizing a walk-in cooler containing an inventory of dough — and swiping the company delivery van.

And that’s too much damage for her hubby’s taste.

The suit claims Azimi, 30, “is not and has never been a shareholder, officer, or director” of either store, and that her involvement in the business consisted principally of recipe development, social media and graphic design work.

Raja, 31, is president and 50% owner of the business, while his father, Bashir Raja, is vice president and owns the other half, according to the suit.

Zohal Azimi founded the cookie company with husband Yoseph Raja. Linkedin / Zohal Azimi
Along with building a cookie empire, Yoseph Raja is also a pharmacist. Linkedin / Yoseph Raja

The alleged cookie caper has left the companies unable to pay employees and forced the Greenwich Village shop to temporarily close, Raja claims.

The companies are also facing eviction for nonpayment of rent, spoilage of perishable inventory, disrupted relationships with vendors and landlords and loss of goodwill, according to the suit.

Raja further alleged Azimi used company funds to pay her personal credit card expenses.

It’s a bitter turn for a business with sweet beginnings.

The Thin Cookies couple, who live in Hicksville on Long Island, started their business from home in 2021, opened the Long Island shop in 2023 and the Greenwich Village store in 2025 — although Azimi’s baking roots go back much further.

Her father runs a Middle Eastern bakery in Queens, so she grew up surrounded by baking, and learned the craft herself, reported Patch.

“I’m the friend who people always ask to bake a cake,” said Azimi. “When we did a small business at home, I just thought it would be a small business. Once it started getting bigger and the wholesale picked up, I started thinking of brick and mortar.”

The cookies come in a range of flavors and go for $7 for a half dozen. FaceBook / Thin Cookies

“It’s just in my blood, I was always around it,” she told GreaterLongisland.com. “I grew up with three sisters, and I was the baker.”

The recipe that would become their business was born after Yoseph — a pharmacist — mentioned that he liked thin cookies but hated how crunchy they were.

Azimi experimented in the kitchen until she perfected a thin, chewy cookie that proved a hit.

“COVID gave me more time because I started working from home,” she said.

From there, the business grew into a fan favorite — their Instagram has 53K followers alone — with the two stores, and the success-story couple went on to have two children, one in January 2023 and the next in October 2024.

“My husband was my taste tester,” she told media outlets.

The tasty treats — which include snickerdoodles, double chocolate, white chocolate with macadamia nuts and coconut — go for $7 for 6 cookies, $13 for a dozen and $25 for two dozen, according to their website.

Both stores were a hit — with customers singing the praises of the sweet delights.

But behind the sweet success story, their marriage was apparently falling apart.

Azimi filed for divorce on Feb. 22, 2026, according to records.

Seven months later, the fight has spilled from the matrimonial court into the cookie jar.

Raja is now seeking an unspecified amount in damages. Oh, and he wants the van back.

Attorney Ayat Masoud didn’t return The Post’s call seeking comment.

Azimi declined to comment, saying she “had not seen the lawsuit.” Raja could not be reached for comment.

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