Those looking to indulge their sweet tooth soon will have a new place in Arnold to satisfy that craving.
Crumbl, a gourmet cookie business, is expected to open next month at 840 Arnold Commons Drive.
Owner Melissa Bohlmann, who will operate the store, said the earliest she expects to open is Oct. 13.
“We are really excited to be in Arnold,” said Bohlmann, who also owns the Crumbl store at 12404 Tesson Ferry Road in south St. Louis County.
Crumbl was founded by cousins Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley in 2017 in Logan, Utah.
There are now 907 locations, including four in the St. Louis area. Along with the south St. Louis County location, Crumbl stores operate in Chesterfield, Cottleville and west St. Louis County.
“This will be the fifth store (in the area),” said Bohlmann, 43, of St. Louis County. “Because we have the South County location, we have several people from Arnold who come to that store. We knew coming here that there would be a great interest. I have been in the community talking it up and letting people know we are on our way. Every time I see somebody, they are like, ‘Crumbl is coming. When are you opening?’
“I feel like there is a lot of energy around this store, and it will be successfully received by the community.”
Bohlmann said she opened the south St. Louis County location in May 2022 without any experience in the baking industry.
“When Crumbl started to really gain strength, I noticed that they were part of a growing niche market – specialty cookies,” Bohlmann said. “I started researching about the organization, what they stood for and what kind of products they made, and we ultimately made the decision to invest.”
She and her husband, Greg Bohlmann, already had owned and operated their own business – MVP Parking and Security – for 29 years, operating parking facilities around the St. Louis area and providing security for special events throughout the area.
Crumbl stores offer six types of cookies each week. Each week’s menu of cookies typically is announced at about 7 p.m. on Sundays through the franchise’s social media sites and is posted on crumblcookies.com.
The menu always features one form of chocolate chip cookie, either one made with milk chocolate chips or one made with semisweet chocolate chips. The other five cookies are selected from more than 200 other recipes, according to the company’s website.
“That is the fun of Crumbl; you don’t know the flavors until Sunday night,” Bohlmann said. “Some fall off the menu and some are retired. Every week, they test more cookies. There is an endless supply of flavors, which I think is fun. It is not the same old, same old.”
Bohlmann said most cookie flavors appear on the menu twice a year.
She said after the chocolate chip cookie, two of the most popular cookies are the S’mores and the Mallow cookies, which are made up of two chocolate sandwich cookies with a cream center.
“The cookies are just delicious,” Bohlmann said. “We bake everything in house from scratch, every single day. We are not allowed to sell the cookies that are left over at the end of the night.
“I love the aspect of having that high-quality product that people keep coming back for every single week, month or for a special occasion. People love cookies. It is a smiley business. People are always happy when they are here, and it always smells really good.”
Customers may purchase either a single cookie or boxes of four, six or 12.
Crumbl also offers catering.
“We need 18-hour advance notice for catering orders,” Bohlmann said.
All Crumbl stores are open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 8 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Stores are closed on Sunday.
Bohlmann said she expects to have between 50 and 60 full-time and part-time employees at the Arnold location.
“It is a very fast-paced business, which I enjoy,” she said. “My favorite part of owning a Crumbl is cultivating the team members who work in the store. From high school students to college students to adults, we have really grown as a team. We have a really good culture at South County, and that will continue here at Arnold.”
Bohlmann said she has formed relationships with nonprofit groups and other organizations in south St. Louis County to give back to the community, and she plans to do the same thing in Arnold.
“We are really excited to be in Arnold and Jefferson County,” Bohlmann said. “I know they are going to embrace us as a business and community partner. We love to give back, and I am excited to be here.”
