Popular Crumbl Cookies comes to town
Here’s a Christmas in July present for all the sweet tooth fans out there – confirmation that CRUMBL COOKIES is on track to open in Parkway Pointe by the holiday season.
Matt Hanzel – franchisee for the Utah-based bakery known for its signature pink boxes and sizable TikTok following – said Crumbl Cookies aims to be in its new home at 3429 Freedom Drive for the holidays.
The site formerly housed THREE TWIGS BAKERY & BISTRO.
“When looking (at) where in central Illinois, Springfield was always a given,” said Hanzel, a Utah transplant who with his wife Angie came to Illinois two years ago to open their first Crumbl Cookies in East Peoria. Last December, the couple opened a second site in Sterling. “(Springfield) was in the conversation on day one. When we opened in Peoria there wasn’t a lot of name recognition. Here it’s been different.
“We’re thrilled with the brand recognition. I walked into the (Springfield) municipal building with my Crumbl shirt (on) and people behind the counters got excited.”
Crumbl Cookies holds the titles as the fastest growing dessert shop chain and the fourth fastest growing food chain of any category in the country for 2022, according to the food and beverage analytics company Datassential.
The chain is only five years old but already touts a cookie kingdom of more than 800 bakeries throughout North America.
The Springfield store will be the fourth Crumbl Cookie to open in the central Illinois market, although the brand can be found throughout the state with dozens of locations in the Chicago metro market and one recently opening in the southern Illinois town of Shiloh.
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 from crowdsourcing than a treasured family heirloom.
The brand is known for its open-concept kitchens that invite customers to watch the process and the constant introduction of new flavors unveiled online every Sunday.
Crumbl Cookie touts 6 million TikTok followers. Fans are encouraged to keep an online cookie journal to track their favorite flavors, as well as rate and review new offerings.
The signature chocolate chip cookies served hot and a pink-iced sugar cookie served chilled are permanent menu offerings.
Beyond that four new flavors are introduced weekly. Current offerings range from honey bun to lemon cream pie, peanut butter crisp featuring Butterfinger candy to cookie butter-white chocolate chip featuring Biscoff.
A cafe and market were always part of the plan when Father’s House International Church opened on Springfield’s east side this spring.
FATHER’S HOUSE MARKET CAFE is now poised to open, operating from the church at 1221 S. 15th St.
“The community, our community needs this,” said Lavasha Hemingway, who co-owns the business, as well as co-pastors the congregation with her husband James Hemingway. “We want – as the body of Christ – to be out there meeting the needs of our community. The nearest grocery store is farther than a lot of people who don’t have transportation can get to or they’d have to cross a busy highway.
“We’ll be able to cover 10 blocks so you don’t have to put yourself in danger to get a loaf of bread.”
The cafe’s lunch and dinner menu will feature hot specials throughout the week, as well as grab-and-go salads and sandwiches available daily. The line-up also includes soul food on Saturdays and a coffee and smoothie bar.
Hemingway compared the market to the neighborhood stores she grew up with that were stocked with non-perishable staples, as well as fresh produce, dairy, meats and frozen items.
The Hemingways – Springfield natives – recently returned to the Capitol City to open Father’s House International Church after starting up congregations in Georgia and California.
A summer opening is planned for Father’s House Market Cafe.
PROUD RICHARD’S RESTAURANT and MUELLER FAMILY FARM work hand in hand to create the Jacksonville establishment’s farm-to-fork menu so it only seemed fitting the two businesses be awarded the Snail of Approval Award together.
SLOW FOOD SPRINGFIELD will add both to its list in a ceremony July 23 at Proud Richard’s. The event includes a three-course dinner prepared by Proud Richard’s chef and co-owner Joe Standley, using produce from the Bluff-based farm.
Cost is $55 a person. The meal begins at 5 p.m. and is open to the public.
The menu features pork rillettes and pickled chicken wings for the carnivores or choose the vegetarian option – beet tartare and spaghetti alla Nerano. Strawberry shortcake will be served for dessert.
In addition to produce from Mueller Family Farm, the meal also features proteins from OAK TREE FARM and 4 LEES FARM, as well as strawberry compote from MOON GIRL FARM.
Tickets can be purchased by calling Proud Richard’s at 217/243-7151.
The Snail of Approval is given to restaurants that demonstrate dedication to using fresh ingredients from local growers and to farms that adopt environmentally sustainable practices while providing their community local foods.
Several Springfield restaurants bear the Snail of Approval recognition including: CAFE MOXO, ENGRAINED BREWERY & RESTAURANT, INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS, MALDANER’S RESTAURANT, TACOLOGY 201 and THREE TWIGS & CO.
Standley and his mother Linda Standley opened Proud Richard’s in the repurposed Chicago-Alton Railroad Station depot in Jacksonville in 2021. The 600 E. State St. address was formerly home to LONZEROTTI’S ITALIA RESTAURANT.
Mueller Family Farms is a second-generation farm operating on 13 acres in the Jacksonville suburb of Bluffs. Lari and Linda Mueller started the farm in the 1990s raising lettuce that was sold at local farmers markets. Today, Mueller’s grandson Michael Meyer runs the produce farm raising everything from fruit to cut flowers, herb to vegetables that are sold at local markets, restaurants, cooperative community groceries and as a community supported agriculture.
Tickets are on sale for the July brunch buffet at AD ASTRA WINE BAR AND MARKET, featuring guest chef Alli Donaldson of GOLDEN HOUR BAKE HOUSE.
The all-you-can-eat buffet will be held Sunday, July 23 with seatings available at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The wine bar is located at 308 E. Adams St.
The menu features lemon-blueberry ricotta pancakes, eggs Benedict, garlic and herbs potatoes, fruit and yogurt parfaits and dessert pastries. Tickets cost $25 a person and include coffee, tea and orange juice. Bottomless mimosas and sangria can be purchased for an additional price.
Donaldson is the third guest chef hosted by Ad Astra, which invites a different woman-owned business each month to prepare brunch. Previous guest chefs included HOMEMADE PASSIONS BY BRYCE and EMERALD’S EATS.
Check out Ad Astra’s Facebook page for additional dates and guest chefs, as well as for a link to purchase tickets.
The A La Carte column highlights restaurant openings, closing, renovations and relocations, as well as personnel changes and business news. Natalie Morris can be reached at 737-7254 or by email at natalie.sjr@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Popular Crumbl Cookies comes to town
