Great American Cookie Co., doing business asGreat American Cookies, is an American chain of independently owned and operated franchised stores that specialize in gourmet cookies, especially cookie cakes. It has over 290 stores in the U.S., particularly in the Southeast as well as Puerto Rico and Guam, most commonly located in malls. The company was founded in 1977 and has its headquarters in Atlanta. It is since 2010 a franchise brand in the portfolio of Global Franchise Group.
Great American Cookie Co. was founded by future CEO Michael J. Coles and partner Arthur Karp, who each invested $4,000 to develop a business selling cookies on the strength of a family recipe passed on to Karp's wife.[1] That same year the first store opened in Atlanta's Perimeter Mall.[2]
The first store in Perimeter Mall became successful in its first month, and the company first became franchised the year after its opening.[3] By 1985, the company had revenue of $100 million per year and was the largest retail cookie chain in the U.S.[4]
In 1985, Coles shortened the name to Great American Cookie Company, with a plan to shorten it further to Great American Cookies. "To complement the revised recipes and pricing structure, we refashioned our branding. Our name—the Original Great American Chocolate Chip Cookie Company—was cute at first, but it had become a liability. What might work for a small, local company did not have national cachet," said Coles.[5]
When Coles sold the firm to Mrs. Fields Famous Brands in 1998, the company had sales of over $100 million.[6] On January 29, 2008, the company was acquired by NexCen Brands Inc. for its Quick Service Restaurant portfolio, which included sister companies Marble Slab Creamery, MaggieMoo's Ice Cream and Treatery and Pretzelmaker. Since July 2010, this portfolio of brands has been owned by Global Franchise Group, LLC, an affiliate of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, and managed by GFG Management.[7]
On June 28, 2021, Global Franchise Group announced that it would be acquired by FAT Brands, owners of Fatburger and Johnny Rockets.[8] The acquisition was completed on July 22.[9]
Referencesedit
^"Press release: Great American Cookies celebrates 25 years of sharing the fun of cookies". BISON:Franchise and Business Opportunities. June 18, 2002. from the original on February 22, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
^"Great American Cookie Company Franchise". thefranchisemall.com. from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
^. ceomakers.com. January 26, 2008. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
^. The Leaf-Chronicle. Associated Press. October 23, 1985. Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Coles, Michael Joseph, 1944- (2018). Time to get tough : how cookies, coffee, and a crash led to success in business and life. Lewis, Catherine M.,, Kennedy, Jim, 1948-. Athens, Georgia. ISBN978-0-8203-5462-0. OCLC 1030909455.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"Entrepreneurial Forum - Breakfast Series, features: Michael Coles". from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
^"NexCen Brands (NEXC) buys the Great American Cookie Company from Mrs. Fields Famous Brands". streetinsider. from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
^Inc, FAT Brands (28 June 2021). "FAT Brands Inc. Agrees to Acquire Global Franchise Group for $442.5 million". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 1 September 2021. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
^Inc., FAT Brands (22 July 2021). "FAT Brands Completes Acquisition of Global Franchise Group". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 1 September 2021. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
Further readingedit
Brett, Jennifer (January 27, 2019). ""It's not complicated. It's cookies." Wit and wisdom from Michael Coles". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. D1.
McWilliams, Jeremiah (September 8, 2010). "In soft economy, cookies put to test". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. A11.
External linksedit
Official Great American Cookies website
May 02, 2024
great, american, cookies, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, f. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Great American Cookies news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2010 Learn how and when to remove this message Great American Cookie Co doing business as Great American Cookies is an American chain of independently owned and operated franchised stores that specialize in gourmet cookies especially cookie cakes It has over 290 stores in the U S particularly in the Southeast as well as Puerto Rico and Guam most commonly located in malls The company was founded in 1977 and has its headquarters in Atlanta It is since 2010 a franchise brand in the portfolio of Global Franchise Group Great American Cookie Co Trade nameGreat American CookieCompany typeWholly owned subsidiaryIndustryFoodBake shopFounded1977 47 years ago 1977 Dunwoody Georgia U S FoundersMichael J ColesArthur KarpHeadquartersAtlanta Georgia U S Number of locations371 February 20 2022 Area servedUnited StatesBahrainSaudi ArabiaProductsCookiesCookie cakeDouble dooziesBrowniesParentFAT BrandsWebsitegreatamericancookies com Contents 1 History 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External linksHistory edit nbsp Old logo Great American Cookie Co was founded by future CEO Michael J Coles and partner Arthur Karp who each invested 4 000 to develop a business selling cookies on the strength of a family recipe passed on to Karp s wife 1 That same year the first store opened in Atlanta s Perimeter Mall 2 The first store in Perimeter Mall became successful in its first month and the company first became franchised the year after its opening 3 By 1985 the company had revenue of 100 million per year and was the largest retail cookie chain in the U S 4 In 1985 Coles shortened the name to Great American Cookie Company with a plan to shorten it further to Great American Cookies To complement the revised recipes and pricing structure we refashioned our branding Our name the Original Great American Chocolate Chip Cookie Company was cute at first but it had become a liability What might work for a small local company did not have national cachet said Coles 5 When Coles sold the firm to Mrs Fields Famous Brands in 1998 the company had sales of over 100 million 6 On January 29 2008 the company was acquired by NexCen Brands Inc for its Quick Service Restaurant portfolio which included sister companies Marble Slab Creamery MaggieMoo s Ice Cream and Treatery and Pretzelmaker Since July 2010 this portfolio of brands has been owned by Global Franchise Group LLC an affiliate of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners and managed by GFG Management 7 On June 28 2021 Global Franchise Group announced that it would be acquired by FAT Brands owners of Fatburger and Johnny Rockets 8 The acquisition was completed on July 22 9 References edit Press release Great American Cookies celebrates 25 years of sharing the fun of cookies BISON Franchise and Business Opportunities June 18 2002 Archived from the original on February 22 2008 Retrieved April 7 2008 Great American Cookie Company Franchise thefranchisemall com Archived from the original on March 16 2008 Retrieved April 7 2008 SpeakerNotes Michael Coles ceomakers com January 26 2008 Archived from the original on July 9 2007 Retrieved April 7 2008 Mall cookie sales make company a sweet success The Leaf Chronicle Associated Press October 23 1985 Archived from the original on February 22 2021 Retrieved February 22 2021 via Newspapers com Coles Michael Joseph 1944 2018 Time to get tough how cookies coffee and a crash led to success in business and life Lewis Catherine M Kennedy Jim 1948 Athens Georgia ISBN 978 0 8203 5462 0 OCLC 1030909455 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link CS1 maint multiple names authors list link CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Entrepreneurial Forum Breakfast Series features Michael Coles Archived from the original on October 16 2008 Retrieved April 7 2008 NexCen Brands NEXC buys the Great American Cookie Company from Mrs Fields Famous Brands streetinsider Archived from the original on May 15 2008 Retrieved April 7 2008 Inc FAT Brands 28 June 2021 FAT Brands Inc Agrees to Acquire Global Franchise Group for 442 5 million GlobeNewswire News Room Retrieved 1 September 2021 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a last1 has generic name help Inc FAT Brands 22 July 2021 FAT Brands Completes Acquisition of Global Franchise Group GlobeNewswire News Room Retrieved 1 September 2021 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a last1 has generic name help Further reading editBrett Jennifer January 27 2019 It s not complicated It s cookies Wit and wisdom from Michael Coles The Atlanta Journal Constitution p D1 McWilliams Jeremiah September 8 2010 In soft economy cookies put to test The Atlanta Journal Constitution p A11 External links editOfficial Great American Cookies website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Great American Cookies amp oldid 1177712971, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
