COOKIE COMPANY MOVING TO COMSTOCK PARK

They had been operating out of del Rosario’s home in Ada where she has a commercial-grade kitchen, but she said they acquired a contract with 1-800-FLOWERS in December to do Fruit Bouquets. That caused a huge boost in their production, which meant they needed a space dedicated to their growing business. del Rosario said their new digs are just right, and pending a final inspection by the State, they expect to be using the space in time for Mother’s Day orders.

“I never would have thought about Comstock Park,” said del Rosario, who found the suite on Craig’s List. “It’s perfect with easy on/off to the highway.”

The two make “bake to order” cookies. Their signature cookie is chocolate chip chocolate chunk, and their next most popular is Michigan Harvest with Michigan cranberries, blueberries, and cherries with white chocolate and almond flavoring. The cookies are made with natural ingredients – pure cane sugar, pure vanilla – and no preservatives, said del Rosario, adding a Cookie Chicks cookie is “worth the calories.”

del Rosario said their business is by order, and most of their customers are corporations who order gift boxes of cookies for clients or cookies for events. The product is made and delivered the same day. With their partnership with 1-800-FLOWERS, they expanded into doing bouquets of flower-shaped fruit, and they do a combo of fruit and cookie bouquets. Pictures of their creations can be seen on their Facebook page, and customers can have custom made bouquets. Bouquets can be ordered directly through Cookie Chicks or through 1-800-FLOWERS. The cookies can be custom packaged with a corporation or a team logo, or for a holiday or special occasion like a birthday. Their area extends west to Lake Michigan, north to Cedar Springs, south to Middleville, and east to Lake Odessa.

The partners have revamped their new space into a homey show kitchen complete with white cupboards they found at a Habitat for Humanity Restore. A massive ten by four foot stainless table dominates the main room, and there is a stainless steel refrigerator, commercial sink, and a microwave. They use induction burners for things like melting chocolate. “We wanted it to look less commercial, more like a home feel for other uses,” said del Rosario. She said they plan to make the 750 square foot space available for other groups to rent for events like cooking classes, or wine and bouquet events. They also plan to put a couple bistro tables and chairs in front of the shop so people walking or riding bikes on the nearby White Pine Trail can sit and have a cookie and coffee.

The two met while volunteering at the Cannonsburg Challenged Ski Association, a program that provides adaptive ski lessons for people with disabilities. Pelham, who lives in Lake Odessa and works for the State Department of Human Services in Lansing, brought cookies for the kids and volunteers who raved about how good they were. In 2015 del Rosario was looking for a job after being downsized from her job in communications marketing at Amway, and the two formed a business partnership. There are no employees yet, but when school is out, the Cookie Chicks hope to hire some of the students from the ski program.