A pair of Miami sisters who turned their love for matcha into a thriving pop-up café say their business was nearly upended after Instagram suddenly suspended their account.
For the last eight months, sisters Regina and Cecilia Alcobe have spent their free time building Honey Veil, a pop-up café specializing in iced matcha tea.
Their small venture quickly turned into a viral sensation, with nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram and lines of customers eager to try what fans call the best matcha in town.
“It’s the best matcha in Miami,” said Ivan Morales from Miami.
What began with just 20 to 30 customers a day has grown to roughly 500 daily, thanks in large part to their social media presence.
“We started small and with the help of our social media team and, honestly, all the UM students that have supported us we are where we are today,” Regina Alcobe said.
Instagram suspension sparks outrage
That momentum nearly came to a halt when Meta—Instagram’s parent company—wrongfully suspended their business account, accusing it of “child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity.”
The sisters told CBS News Miami the account was suddenly banned, cutting off their main marketing tool and connection to their customers.
“I got a message telling me that they’re getting reports of this globally, so I feel like a lot of people are experiencing the same thing,” Cecilia Alcobe said.
Growing backlash against Meta’s AI enforcement
The Alcobe sisters are not alone. A petition on change.org has gathered more than 40,000 signatures from users claiming that Meta’s automated enforcement system has wrongfully flagged accounts, including small businesses like Honey Veil.
Regina said her personal account was also blocked and unblocked twice for the same reason.
The sisters were eventually able to get their café’s account reinstated, and Meta issued an apology. Still, they worry the same issue could happen again.
Honey Veil eyes next chapter
Despite the setback, Regina and Cecilia are moving forward with plans to open their first brick-and-mortar shop about five minutes from the University of Miami campus in South Miami, near Sunset Place mall.
“The most important thing I feel that’s missing in this generation is community—and I really feel we’ve built a really cool community and that’s what I want to keep doing in the store,” Cecilia Alcobe said.
Meta has not responded
CBS News Miami reached out to Meta for comment on the issue but has not received a response.
The sisters remain hopeful this setback won’t slow down their plans to expand Honey Veil into a permanent community hub.
