Mother-of-two Genevieve Prado, untroubled by the fact that the new patisserie she is excited about is part of a portfolio of brands owned by Connecticut-based investment firm, said she had heard great things about its scones. She added that she was engaging with the insidious expression of end-stage capitalism wittingly. “I get that this entire concept was cynically contrived to appeal to customers with my profile," Prado explained. "But they have ‘cruffins’ and the space is also really cute.”