Warm, freshly baked cookies will be featured at Belleville East grad’s new metro-east shop
I’m usually not one for trends, but there seems to be a new one in our area I think I can get on board with.
Because who doesn’t like cookies?
Headquartered in St. Louis, Hot Box Cookies specializes in warm, all-natural ingredient cookies that are baked fresh daily.
And one is close to opening in O’Fallon, right next door to Hi-Pointe Drive-In, another biz that originated in the Lou.
The location’s owner, Korian Harrington, said in a phone interview that he’s excited to open the first Hot Box Cookies location in Illinois.
Already familiar with the area – he’s a Belleville East grad – Harrington did some research to determine the best location for his business venture.
“O’Fallon is a great area,” he said, adding that being next door to Hi-Pointe is an amazing opportunity.
Harrington was also already familiar with Hot Box cookies from his time at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where the business started.
He remembers that people usually had to drive across the river from here to enjoy places like Hot Box and Hi-Pointe.
It’s exciting as a business owner, he said, to bring a hip, young business that he enjoyed for years to the area.
Construction on the O’Fallon shop is finishing up, said Harrington. The opening date has not been set, but look for the doors to open in the coming weeks.
The new location will be the third cookie shop to open in the metro-east this year.
A Crumbl Cookies location at 3760 Green Mount Crossing Drive in Shiloh opened in May.
The Shiloh shop is owned by twin sisters Adrienne and Jacqueline Parrish and offers a weekly rotation of more than 275 cookie flavors.
In July, Edwardsville welcomed an Alibi Cookie location at 200 S. Buchanan St.
Also based in St. Louis, Alibi offers ice cream, cookie cakes, shakes and cookie sandwiches in addition to multiple cookie flavors.
Cookies and more
Hot Box Cookies offers a variety of awesome cookie flavors.
Flavors listed on the website are:
Chocolate Chip
Vegan Chocolate Chip (Woohoo!)
Gooey Butter Cake
Cookies N Crème
M&M
Snickerdoodle
Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter Reese’s Pieces
Oatmeal Raisin
Monster (gluten-free)
Red Velvet
Chocolate White Chocolate
And a seasonal flavor: Kitchen Sink
Cookie boxes are also available, in quantities of six, 12, 18, 25 and 36.
And you can even have them gift wrapped with balloons, ribbon and a card.
Cookies do really well as gifts, according to Harrington.
So send a box to friends or family. Heck, send one to yourself. (I won’t judge.)
And the shop has more than just cookies.
The menu also lists ice cream sandwiches and icing sandwiches (like an ice cream sandwich but with vanilla or chocolate buttercream icing) – all made with cookie flavors of your choosing.
Hand-scooped ice cream – vanilla, chocolate and cookies & cream – is available in pints, and you can get a 12-inch cookie cake too.
Keep an eye on the business’ social media for other flavors, products, special deals and giveaways.
I spied an Aug. 17 Facebook post announcing a limited edition White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookie.
Harrington said Hot Box Cookies also offers catering services for private and corporate events and home delivery.
The delivered products have the same consistent quality as those at the store, he said.
The website also offers online ordering for delivery and takeout, nationwide shipping, and fun merch.
About Hot Box Cookies
Hot Box Cookies opened its first location in Columbia, Missouri, in 2008. The business was founded by Corey Rimmel, who was a sophomore at the University of Missouri-Columbia at that time.
Since then, six more shops in the St. Louis-area and one in Kansas have opened.
Hot Box Cookies is located at 630 W. Highway 50, Suite 200, in O’Fallon.
For more information about Hot Box Cookies, visit hotboxcookies.com or follow the O’Fallon location on Facebook and Instagram.
