Hot Oven Cookies opens new store in ChicopeeDate: 1/2/2024 CHICOPEE — Hot Oven Cookies has big plans for 2024 with the recent opening of a new location in Chicopee and soon moving into wholesale.
A herd of cookie lovers lined up outside of the Chicopee location, 28 Center St., for a soft opening on Dec. 21. Hot Oven Cookies Founder Sheila Coon shared that the soft opening served as a way to gauge what production will look like.
Coon noted that Hot Oven Cookies has never had an official grand opening at any of its locations, they just hit the ground running.
After moving its first location from Downtown Springfield to uptown, she said customers in Holyoke, Chicopee and Downtown Springfield have been wanting a more convenient location. “Our customers do not hold back,” Coon shared.
She went on to say that Victor from Goodworks Coffee in Chicopee reached out to her about an opportunity with the Valley Opportunity Council. The location is 11 minutes from the MassMutual Center and nine minutes from Holyoke High School.
Coon said this new location is centralized in Chicopee, where people can get on and back off the highway easily.
“[We have] been thinking about our downtown customers,” Coon said. As the uptown Springfield location “works spectacular,” she is hoping the Chicopee location does too.
Hot Oven Cookies in Chicopee will have the same offerings as its Springfield location, but they are working on a drink menu. It will include chocolaté — chocolate made with cream — lemonade, which has been popular, as well as canned drinks in the summer. There will not be a cold brew offering because Goodworks Coffee is a few storefronts away.
After seven years, Hot Oven Cookies will sell merchandise such as T-shirts and aprons.
In 2024, Coon shared that there will be a customize your own dough option.
Also in the new year, Hot Oven Cookies is preparing to get into wholesale distribution.
Coon said she is currently looking into buying a building in Worcester to set up an artisanal manufacturing facility.
Eventually, the goal is to break into Boston and have the first drive-through Hot Oven Cookies location, she shared.
Coon’s two daughters are managing the shops in Chicopee and Springfield while she fully moves into wholesale. She noted that she is looking to self-capitalize to start the franchising process.
“It’s really a social [and heartfelt] mission,” she said.
In early December, Coon appeared on the Tamron Hall Show in New York City. Since then, business has been booming.
While Coon prefers to ship the dough instead of baked cookies — allowing for the freshest product — she said people have expressed they do not care and have been ordering from California, Vermont, Ohio, Florida and other states.
Additionally, Coon shared that about 12 people have reached out to her about buying a franchise.
Hot Oven Cookies is open Tuesday-Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or until sold out.
The 10 signature flavors that are always available include boozy cake batter sugar, dark chocolate sea salt chip, coquito snickerdoodle, fluffernutter time, lemon dream cheesecake, just pb, pb jellytime, apple caramel oatties, the craggy chip and guava cheesecake.
There is also a rotation of over 1,000 innovative flavors that change each week.
Hot Oven Cookies has a second location in Springfield at 1209 Parker St. Their Westfield location has closed.
For additional information, visit hotovencookies.com.
Hot Oven Cookies does not answer the phones, however, to contact them, there is a form listed on their website. Orders cannot be made that way.
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