Days after a bakery refused to make a cake for a Toledo same-sex couple, the local business has received a slew of poor online ratings.

Toledo residents Candice and Mandy Lowe were vacationing in Florida on their honeymoon when Candice Lowe received a text on July 4 — the day of Mandy Lowe’s birthday. Candice Lowe had been anticipating an invoice from the baker she had commissioned to make a surprise cake for Mandy upon their return to Toledo, she said.

According to a screenshot posted by Candice Lowe on Facebook, she received a text message from the baker that day instead. In the screenshot, the baker said she had discovered Candice Lowe was in a same-sex relationship and that the business did not “do cakes for same sex weddings or parties.”

Another screenshot posted by Candice Lowe identified the baker as LaGresha Fizer-Brown, who runs the Toledo cake design business Take the Cake.

“I think it hurt my wife more than anything,” Candice Lowe said.

Candice Lowe said Ms. Fizer-Brown had learned about the couple through Candice Lowe’s Facebook page, which she had provided because Ms. Fizer-Brown frequently tags her customers in cake photos on the Take the Cake Facebook page.

“I was heartbroken,” Mandy Lowe said. “We've never been in this situation ever before.”

Ms. Fizer-Brown did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

The Lowes, who married June 18, have publicized the incident on social media in the days since. Candice Lowe’s original screenshot has been shared by other Facebook users nearly 600 times.

Take the Cake’s Yelp page now features over 40 one-star reviews, all of which were posted on or after July 4.

The bakery’s Facebook page does not allow users to rate the business, but recent comments on the page have accused the bakery of being “bigoted” and referred to the business’ goods as “cupcakes of hate.”

Candice Lowe said she did not know if she will take legal action against the bakery.

“I’m kind of just weighing my options right now,” she said.

Toledo is one of 15 municipalities in Ohio with a nondiscrimination ordinance that protects LGBT people. The 1998 city ordinance bans discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on sexual orientation.

Since the incident, the Lowes have received an influx of caring calls and messages from friends and strangers alike, Mandy Lowe said.

As word has spread, the Lowes say they are overwhelmed by the response from the LGBT community and the Toledo community at large, Candice Lowe said.

“I just hope that I can use this to make it better for people from this point on,” Candice Lowe said.

Last year, a Colorado state court ruled that a bakery violated that state’s public accommodations law by refusing service to a same-sex couple.

Equality Toledo executive director Nick Komives said though this kind of discrimination is not uncommon nationwide, the incident has let Toledoans recognize it occurs in their own backyard.

“I think that is what has sparked a lot of allies or people who aren’t in the LGBT community to take a look at this instance and start to support this couple through social media,” Mr. Komives said. “It certainly took off very quickly.”

Mr. Komives said the incident was unique in that no religious reason was referenced by the baker, and that the occasion for the cake — a birthday — was not a religious moment like a wedding.

A review of the Take the Cake Facebook page for the past few days revealed hundreds of comments, but few — if any — expressing support for the business.

Contact Michelle Liu at mliu@theblade.com or on Twitter @mchelleliu.

First Published July 8, 2016, 5:17 a.m.