My Great American Cookie Story

The idea to start a cookie business came from a most unlikely place.

While visiting San Diego for a clothing show, I went to the local mall. There I saw a cookie store packed with customers in the middle of the day. I waited in line to buy two dozen cookies and asked the manager as many questions I could about the profitability of the cookie business. Even though I knew nothing about the food industry, I knew a good business when I saw one.  

Research

Though skeptical, I was fascinated by what I had learned. So, I left the mall with my big bag of cookies and went next door to the grocery store to do some research. After buying ingredients to make my mother’s chocolate chip cookie recipe, I went to the drugstore and bought a postage scale.

I got back to my hotel suite and began to mix up a batch in the small kitchenette. Weighing each ingredient, I checked if food costs were even close to what the manager of the cookie store had claimed they were, and I was dumbfounded. I could make a cookie for six cents and sell it for thirty. 

The Deciding Factor

After my California trip, I decided to leave the clothing business and open a cookie store in Atlanta. My partner, Arthur Karp, and I had absolutely no experience selling food and only $8,000 to invest in this new enterprise. We were undercapitalized and faced several national competitors selling the same product. Interest rates were high, inflation was soaring, and new businesses were closing in 1977 almost as fast as they could open their doors. We had every reason not to do this, but we did.

Time to Get Tough: How Cookies, Coffee, and a Crash Led to Success in Business and Life | UGA Press