I have an admission to make. I am The Original Cookie Monster. No cookie is safe around me, which you can kind of tell by sizing up my physique.
Anyway, the recent entrance of Crumbl Cookies into the Oklahoma City market caught my attention because of a couple of reasons.
Reason No. 1: OK, my daughter got a job there before the store opened for its first day of business.
Reason No. 2: See the “Cookie Monster” comment in the first line.
When my wife and I showed up on Free Cookie Day during Crumbl’s grand opening week, there was a 20-minute wait in line down the sidewalk outside the door.
We waited it out, of course. The cookie was warm and delicious.
Crumbl is a franchised location of a chain launched less than three years ago in Logan, Utah, by founder Jason McGowan. The OKC store, opened by franchise owners C.J. Roundy and Jefferson Palmer, was store No. 115.
So you can see how quickly the concept has spread across the nation.
I spoke with Roundy the other day, and he told me the pair located their store in OKC’s Chisholm Creek shopping center because it fit all their criteria for launching a store: prime shopping location with high traffic count, demographics and a business-friendly community.
Here are a few other observations from the franchise co-owner:
“Our grand opening, compared to others in the Midwest and South region, was probably one of the better ones ever,” Roundy said. “We had 10,000 cookies go through our door in three days.”
Did you catch that? 10,000 COOKIES IN THREE DAYS.
“It was hectic,” he said. “We had lines out the door Friday and Saturday, almost all day long. We had really high sales. I would say our sales were about 15 to 30 percent higher than what we expected. It was really fantastic for us. “
Crumbl cookies are large, but not cheap. A single cookie will cost you $3.48. A box of 4 is $10.98.
“We are a premium product, but we use only the best quality ingredients,” Roundy said. “Everything is made fresh in our store. We really think the price that we charge is equivalent to the quality.”
One last thing. Since Crumbl is a franchise based in Utah, it doesn’t fit the “shop local” criteria that has become a theme for many residents across the city.
“All of our employees are from here; It’s only my business partner and I who moved here,” Roundy told me. “But we moved here in the hopes of being here a long time. We want to open six or seven more locations in the Oklahoma City area. We want this to feel local even though it started in another state.”
Crumbl employs cutting edge technology in its cookie marketing, offering catering, curbside pickup and home delivery. There’s an eye-catching Crumbl website, mobile app and a company-developed point-of-sale software system that gives customers the option of checking out at kiosks without actually having to go up to the sales counter.
Roundy said Crumbl’s cookie lineup rotates weekly with chocolate chip and sugar cookies being constants. He hopes the store, located on the N. Pennsylvania segment of Chisholm Creek shopping center, becomes a regular staple for the city’s cookie lovers.
So, what does that mean for me?
Well, I know that C is for Crumbl Cookie. That’s good enough for me. Apologies, Cookie Monster.
Jim Stafford's BlogOKC 