April Morey and her husband, Darrin, want to serve the Raleigh community much more than cookies.
The husband-and-wife duo behind The Cookie People is opening their first brick-and-mortar storefront in Mission Valley in mid-February.
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In a phone call with WRAL News, April said she wants to support the local community in every way she can by working with local colleges, providing job opportunities for people with disabilities and saying thank you to veterans with a free cookie.
The Cookie People will open in the old Planet Smoothie space at 2237 Avent Ferry Road. April and Darrin picked the location because it's close to N.C. State University, their home and the North Carolina State Farmers Market, where the business first got its start and continues to sell fresh-baked treats.
While you can still find The Cookie People at the State Farmers Market and in their dessert food truck at special events, April said the expansion into a permanent space will help the business give back to the community even more.
April consulted her friend Mark Chavez as a contractor to get The Cookie People's new location running. Chavez and his wife own contracting firm Heart and Grit, LLC, and Layered Croissanterie in downtown Raleigh, which they designed themselves. "Small business owners helping each other add to a city’s character and energy," April said.
Morey and her oldest sons, Ben and Chris, all graduated from N.C. State. She said wants to support local students by offering them job opportunities and business experience.
"We love to hire students to help sell the cookies," she said. "We use NCSU Howling Cow ice cream in our cookie ice cream sandwiches, because a small business and a big local university make for a great win-win partnership."
"One of the most satisfying parts of this business has been getting to know the college students who work for us and remaining friends with them after they graduate," April said.
Inspired by Life Experiences, a Cary bakery that offers employment for adults with disabilities, and inspired by their youngest son Mason, April's vision for their company is to provide baking jobs for people with disabilities.
When The Cookie People has leftover cookies, those are donated to Healing Transitions, a center for people suffering from addiction.
The Cookie People serves up classic cookies and creative inventions, including chocolate chip, oatmeal golden raisin, triple chocolate, peanut butter, sugar, snickerdoodle, white chocolate macadamia nut, root beer float, lemonade and Mexican hot chocolate cookies.
Morey's favorites cookie is the Molasses Crinkle, an old-fashioned recipe made with brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
"This is a very nostalgic cookie," she said. "My grandmothers and my mom made these cookies and taught me how to make them. They take us back to a time when people didn't buy everything from a store."
April and Darrin are currently securing partnerships with local vendors to serve North Carolina-made coffee, milk and ice cream in the shop and bake with locally-sourced flour.
The Cookie People is slated to open in Mission Valley mid-February. You can like their Facebook page or check out their Kickstarter campaign for updates.