Crumbl Cookie franchise in Daphne was ‘love at first bite’ for owners

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DAPHNE — It was “love at first bite” for new franchise owners Kayla and Collin Roof when they decided to open a Crumbl Cookie bakery in Daphne.

For Collin, a 20-year Navy veteran, and Kayla, who has a background in marketing, the Eastern Shore area of Baldwin County proved to be a perfect fit as well.

Four years ago, the Roof family moved with their two young sons, then 2 and 5, to the Mobile area when Collin was assigned to work on littoral combat ships at Austal with the Supervisor of Shipbuilding (SUPSHIP) Gulf Coast. The company is supervised by Navy officers and administers shipbuilding and repair contracts along the Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast.

“We didn’t have any family here, so we began researching the area and decided to settle in Fairhope,” Collin Roof said. “We just fell in love with the area and decided when it was time to retire that we would settle here.”

The decision was made to start their own business and they began looking for a business model that would fit their needs, they said.

Collin Roof’s sister turned them onto the idea of investing in the Crumbl Cookie national franchise.

“We had gone to my parents’ house in Kentucky for the holidays,” he said. “My sister lives in Dublin, Ohio, which is an area known to be a test market for various products and she suggested we look into Crumbl Cookies.”

They found a store in Nashville, which is about two hours away, located along their route back to Alabama.

“The moment we walked in we knew this was the right place for us,” he said. “And when we tried the product, it was literally love at first bite.”

The Crumbl Cookie franchise was started in 2017 in Logan, Utah, by cousins Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley. After starting with just one flavor, a milk chocolate chip that has been dubbed the world’s best chocolate chip cookie, the company has grown to more than 160 recipes, expanding to more than 300 bakeries in 36 states nationwide.

“I love the fact that they are a tech company,” Kayla Roof said. “All of their recipes are tried and tested and made with the best ingredients.”

Aside from the original milk chocolate chip cookie, the company rotates the other recipes every week, so it is a different experience every time you walk in the door.

“They’ve done such a great job promoting the company on social media,” Kayla Roof said. “Every Sunday, they send out a social media blast, letting people know what the flavors for that week are going to be. We have people that wait weeks for their favorite flavor to become available.”

All of the cookies are made to order in an open kitchen, visible to the customers. Ingredients are purchased locally.

The business is also all takeout and delivery. Customers can order online from home, at a special kiosk located inside the store, or over the counter. A catering service is also available and offers both the regular, giant-sized cookies, along with miniature versions available only to catering customers.

Individual cookies cost about $4 each and are available as singles or in a 4-pack, 6-pack or 12-pack, folded into the company’s iconic pink boxes. Larger orders are available through the company’s catering service.

For the Roof family, which expanded to include a daughter two years ago, business has been booming since opening Dec. 17 at 1802 U.S. 98 Suite D in Daphne.

“The support has been fantastic,” Kayla Roof said. “We had a huge grand opening and typically this is a slow time of year for the company, but we’ve enjoyed a steady business. The people here have just been great.”

The line is steady in the afternoons, she said, about the time school lets out for the day.

The bakery opens at 8 a.m. daily and closes at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. You can fulfill your craving for cookies until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

“We usually have a steady stream of people coming in all the way to midnight,” Kayla Roof said.

In addition to the Daphne location, the Roofs are looking to expand to more locations along the Alabama Gulf Coast in 2022.

For more information about the company, go to crumblcookies.com. You can also get updates locally by visiting @crumbldaphne on Facebook and other social media platforms.