Crumbl Cookies is opening its first SLO County shop — and 2 more are in the works
Popular cookie shop chain Crumbl Cookies is opening its first San Luis Obispo County location on Friday — and two more are in the works.
First to open is a shop at 2307 Theatre Drive, Suite 600, in Paso Robles. It’s located on the south edge of the Target shopping center, near Taco Roco restaurant and See’s Candies.
“We’re about four to six weeks away from opening in Pismo (Beach),” store co-owner Julie Packnett of Orcutt said Tuesday.
There’s a “Coming Soon” sign in the window of a Crumbl Cookies shop at 481D Madonna Road in San Luis Obispo, although it’s not clear when it’s slated to open.
Started by two cousins, Crumbl Cookies opened its first storefront in 2017 in Logan, Utah.
Now there are nearly 800 Crumbl shops in 47 states selling “a million cookies a day,” Packnett said.
The cookie company also has a strong social media presence, boasting more than 2.2 million Facebook followers and 6.6 million followers on Tiktok.
What’s on the menu at Paso Robles cookie shop?
According to its website, Crumbl Cookies focuses on “developing unique and delicious cookies inspired by popular flavors, foods, desserts of all kinds — from pies to cakes to candies and more.”
“We’ve taken every dessert imaginable and packed it into perfect cookie form,” the site said.
Packaged in the company’s signature pink oblong boxes, the big, soft freshly-baked cookies measure four inches in diameter and weigh 5 to 6 ounces each.
Crumbl Cookies offers a weekly rotating menu of six varieties selected from the company’s collection of more than 275 recipes. Each week’s offerings are revealed online on Monday mornings.
Those offerings nearly always include the company’s award-winning milk chocolate chip cookie — the first cookie introduced by Crumbl Cookies, and its most popular variety — as well as a pink sugar cookie with almond icing.
A recent lineup included macadamia nut, snickerdoodle cupcake, peanut butter creme featuring Nutter Butter and a s’mores-inspired cookie topped with a toasted marshmallow, chocolate drizzle and graham cracker crumbs.
About 40% of Crumbl’s varieties are iced, Packnett said, and many are elaborately decorated.
According to Packnett, some of the more unusual flavors include Circus Animal, Pink Velvet, Pineapple Whip and Fresh Fruit Pizza, served with fresh berries on top.
Although the Paso Robles location doesn’t offer baked cookies for customers on specialty diets, such those eating gluten-free, the cookie shop has nut-free and chocolate-free varieties, Packnett said.
Her favorite flavor is a seasonal offering, pumpkin chocolate chip.
“I stock up because they freeze so well,” she said, as do all the Crumbl cookies.
Her husband’s hands-down favorite is the classic chocolate chip. “The chips are always gooey,” Justin Packnett said.
Crumbl Cookies stores open on Central Coast
Julie Packnett said she has been working for Crumbl Cookies for about five years, and opened the chain’s 82nd store in Eugene, Oregon in 2020.
She’s the operating partner for the Paso Robles and Pismo Beach locations, as well as a Crumbl Cookies shop in Santa Maria that opened in October.
Kai Vanthuss, her 21-year-old daughter, manages the Paso Robles store.
That North County location is providing jobs for nearly 60 employees, Packnett said.
Before joining Crumbl Cookies, Packnett simultaneously managed 16 Taco Bell restaurants.
That’s when she met her future husband, maintenance man Justin Packnett.
“He can fix anything,” his wife said, “and he makes cookies, too!”
Julie Packnett’s offsite business partners are Katie Bertilacchi, Kristi Seligman and Ted Marsella, who own Crumbl Cookies in Stockton.
Packnett met them while serving as a Crumbl Cookies field trainer. “Every two weeks, I was at a different store,” she said.
Bertilacchi, Seligman and Marsella told Packnett that they’d love to own other Crumbl locations, but didn’t want to relocate to meet company requirements. They formed a partnership that allowed Packnett to become the owner of the Central Coast stores, while the other three stayed in Stockton.
Now, the partners are more like siblings, Packnett said. “I’ve been adopted!”
In Paso alone, the group is providing jobs for nearly 60 employees, Packnett said at the shop Tuesday during an interview.
More info about Crumbl Cookies
Crumbl Cookies‘ Paso Robles location is open at 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.
For details, call 805-257-2599, visit crumblcookies.com or follow Crumbl Cookies on Facebook and Instagram.
In addition to buying cookies in-store and online, customers can order through the Crumbl Cookies app and earn points toward free cookies or merchandise.
