ALTON - Community staple Cookie Factory is moving to a new location.
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Currently located in Alton Square Mall, the store will move to 192 Alton Square Mall Drive at the end of the year. Owner Sarah Kinder is excited for a fresh start, and she plans to deliver the same great products and services that the Riverbend has come to expect from Cookie Factory over the past 44 years.
“Oh my God, I’m so excited. I’m truly counting down the minutes until I’m in my new space. I cannot wait,” Kinder said. “People think that we’re closing down, and that’s just not true. Keep coming up here and buying your favorite cookies.”
The store will stay at the mall until Dec. 24, 2024, and then will reopen in its new location on Jan. 15, 2025. Kinder said people can expect the “classics” they love from Cookie Factory, as well as a few new items on the menu. She also plans to bring back the frozen Pepsi machine. With more space at the new location, she hopes to host cookie decorating classes or birthday parties in the future.
Kinder took over Cookie Factory almost three years ago, and she noted that it has been a challenging but fun experience so far.
“I definitely was going to stay in Alton. I wasn’t going to deprive these people of cookie cakes and munchie bags,” Kinder joked. “But it was just time. There are several stores leaving the mall this year…A lot of my foot traffic is already going out the door with those stores leaving. I just needed to keep my business running. I wasn’t going to really plan on staying, even if these stores were staying. I was still going to leave the mall just to have my own storefront, set my own hours, just make it easier for me, my employees and my customers to get to us.”
Over the years, Kinder has been impressed by the community’s support. She noted that they often see people who come to Cookie Factory for cookie cakes. The shop has catered weddings, donated cookie cakes for fundraisers, and decorated countless cookies for community members’ parties.
“We’ve pretty much been in everybody’s household in this town, and that’s pretty cool,” she added. “It’s just so much fun hearing parents that have been ordering cakes since their kids were 1 year old and now they’re turning 21. That’s really exciting that these people have been coming here for that long.”
Kinder hopes to continue delivering great products for another 50 years. She can’t wait to introduce people to the store’s new space in 2025. For more information about Cookie Factory, including updates, visit their official Facebook page.
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