The wait is finally over Springfield, those warm TikTok-touted cookies go on sale Feb. 9
Natalie Morris
Updated 5 min read
Crumbl Cookie fans, it’s finally time to check out the Utah-based bakery chain’s Sunday drop. This week’s half-dozen featured selections are finally more than just a tease.
The TikTok touted cookie brand opens its first Springfield location in Parkway Pointe on Feb. 9.
“Every Sunday night they announce the cookies for the week,” local franchise operator Matt Hanzel said, noting even he didn’t know the week’s cookie selections at the time of the interview. “It keeps it exciting.”
The big reveal happens Sundays at 7 p.m., on the company website, www.crumbl.com.
Crumbl Cookies is known for gilding the lily with last week’s cookie roster including chocolate mallow cupcake, S’mores, a vanilla crumb cake featuring Golden Oreos, and a sugar cookie topped with Mother ’s-brand circus animals. A milk chocolate chip variety and a mystery option rounded out the lineup for those who need more of a surprise than just a weekly reveal.
The brand operates from an open-concept kitchen that invites customers to watch the process.
“It’s a multi-sensory experience with sights, sounds, smells of the cookies baking,” said Hanzel, who co-owns the franchise with his wife Angie. “You are already triggered before they hand you the warm box.”
This is the third store for the Hanzels, who operate two Crumbl Cookies in the Peoria market.
Natalie Morris
Hours at the 3429 Freedom Drive location (formerly Three Twigs & Co.) are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Cookies can be purchased single, four-count, six-count, and the party pack that features a dozen. In-store-only sales will be available opening week. Online orders and catering services begin Feb. 15.
The chain is only five years old but already touts a cookie kingdom of more than 800 bakeries throughout North America.
That rapid growth and name recognition is due in large part to its founders’ social media savvy.
Cousins Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley opened their first store in Logan, Utah in 2017 serving hot chocolate chip cookies – the recipe more the result of crowdsourcing than a treasured family heirloom.
Crumbl Cookies touts 6 million TikTok followers. Fans are encouraged to keep an online cookie journal to track their favorite flavors and rate and review new offerings.
The signature chocolate chip cookies are served hot and the pink-iced sugar cookies served chilled are the only permanent menu offerings.
Get caffeinated
Brezie’s Roasted Beans & Gaming has plenty of morning treats, lunch staples, and a variety of caffeinated drinks to fuel the day.
The new business recently opened at 3351 S. Sixth St. in Southern View.
Brezier’s features cinnamon rolls from Wildflower Bakery and bagels from Beelzebunz. Lunch selections include build-your-own sandwiches from an assortment of meats, cheeses, toppings, and breads and sides like potato salad and pasta salad.
Caffeinated offerings include hot or iced lattes, cold brews, hot coffee, iced coffees, hot and iced teas, and Lotus Energy drinks.
Hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Seating is available, as well as a children’s play area.
Brezier’s is Bree Richardson’s first business. But she is no stranger to the local dining scene with stints at Fox Run Restaurant and Jamie’s Route 66 on her resume.
The Vanilla Bean opens Feb. 1 bringing scratch-made, small-batch ice cream to the Route 66 Springfield strip mall.
More than two dozen varieties of hard-pack ice cream will be served with seasonal flavors being rotated in regularly.
Steve and Meghann Risen are behind the new ice cream parlor at 2339 S. Dirksen Parkway.
The business serves dairy products from the Wisconsin-based Cedar Crest Ice Cream. The family-run dairy is known for more than 70 flavors of churned ice cream, sorbets, and sherbets sold in both ice cream parlors and pre-packaged for retail.
Ice cream is available in a cup, sugar or waffle cone, or edible brownie bowls.
The menu also includes a lineup of cookies, brownies, and small cakes baked on-site, as well as milkshakes and frozen treats.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Phone: (217) 503-4290.
Closing confirmed
Wendy’s corporate office confirmed this week the shuttered Toronto Road location had been among the holdings of franchisee Starboard Group, which filed for bankruptcy last fall.
The Florida-based Starboard Group has closed over a dozen Wendy’s locations since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 14. These closures include Wendy’s in Quincy and Hannibal, Mo., both of which closed in early January.
The 1250 Toronto Road site – one of three Wendy’s in the Capital City – was Starboard Group’s only Springfield outlet.
Before filing for bankruptcy protection, Starboard Group operated 73 Wendy’s throughout Illinois, Alabama, Florida, and Wisconsin.
Wendy’s has operated from the Toronto Road address since 2006 after converting a former Burger King structure.
The website for the Dublin, Ohio-based burger chain lists the business as “temporarily closed.” A corporate spokesperson for Wendy’s said they could not share any other details about the site at this time.
The A La Carte column highlights restaurant openings, closings, renovations, and relocations, as well as personnel changes and business news. Natalie Morris can be reached at 217/737-7254 or by email at natalie.sjr@gmail.com.
