Photo courtesy: R.J. Brunelli & Co. LLC
By Joshua Burd
A cookie delivery and takeout chain is preparing to open its first store in New Jersey, as a franchisee seeks additional locations in the central and southern parts of the state.
Karen and Darrell Doucette, the franchisees for Crumbl Cookies, have appointed R.J. Brunelli & Co. as their preferred real estate representative for the region. Brokers with the firm are now seeking additional sites after recently arranging a 1,700-square-foot lease for the operator’s initial store, at Seaview Square at 2303 Route 66 in Ocean Township.
R.J. Brunelli President and Principal Danielle Brunelli and Sales Associate Peter Miller brokered the transaction. The store is now under construction and slated to open in October, they said, noting that the Doucettes plan to open three shops within their first year of operation.
“For children and adults alike, walking into a Crumbl location is an exciting multisensory experience, as the open kitchen allows you to see the cookies being mixed and baked,” Brunelli said. “With sales primarily going for birthday and school parties, kids’ sports teams and other group events, the cookies are usually sold in large quantities. Consequently, 80 percent of customers are ‘soccer moms’ or other moms in the 18- to 45-year age group.”
Billed as the nation’s fastest-growing gourmet cookie delivery and takeout company, Logan, Utah-based Crumbl currently has more than 160 shops in 30-plus states, according to a news release. The shops feature a rotating menu of four specialty cookies each week, along with standard options such as warm chocolate chip and chilled sugar.
The Monmouth County location, which will occupy a former Sprint store, joins a shopping center that is anchored by Costco, Target, Marshalls, Home Sense, At Home and HomeGoods. The R.J. Brunelli team is seeking similar locations with at least 60,000 residents within a five- to 10-mile radius and strong population growth over the past five to 10 years.
