After being welcomed into the newest Crumbl Cookies location by Aricka Hilton, the store’s owner, a sweet aroma of warm cookies filled the air.
In seven years, the Crumbl Cookie franchise has grown from a few small cookie shops to now having over 1,000 locations and counting across all 50 states, as well as in Canada and Puerto Rico. The most recent location to open is in Coralville and will be the first in Johnson County.
March 28 is the grand opening for the Crumbl Cookies, located at 2799 Commerce Dr., and The Daily Iowan was invited to the VIP early access tasting event. The small space was packed with participants’ excited faces alongside the store’s iconic pink decor.
Attendees were invited to take pictures with their Crumbl-designed props to promote the opening.
We were presented with freshly baked minis of their chocolate chip, chocolate sea salt toffee, pineapple whip, and strawberry crumb cake cookies. Next to the cookies stood glasses of milk for attendees.
No matter which cookie the attendees favored, every bite led to bright eyes and chatter. Three more flavors will be for sale come Friday, creating a total of seven flavors being sold on opening day.
The strawberry crumb cake cookie — my favorite — was light, sweet, and delicious.
Before leaving, attendees walked up to Hilton, telling her they would be back for the grand opening in two days.
This is not Hilton’s first business venture. She also owns the Crumbl Cookies location in Dubuque, which opened in 2022.
Hilton said her motivation to open the franchise was because after the COVID-19 pandemic, Hilton and her husband wanted to create job opportunities for people in the community.
She noted Crumbl locations are closed on Sundays, allowing them and their employees to have at least one day to spend time with their families.
“We have two kids, so we want to be able to spend time with them,” Hilton added.
As for the day-to-day business, she said she enjoyed how the menu rotates every week, which keeps business interesting and enjoyable to operate.
“We really wanted something that would draw customers in, but also draw us in, and a product that we could get behind,” Hilton said.