Need your Krookie fix? Look no further
Chip City, with its viral cookie-croissant creation, is set to open in West Hartford’s Blue Back Square
It all started with an oversized chocolate chip cookie baked to be crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.
Now Chip City has a cult-like following after those who started it took the cookie business to the next level.
Since that first big cookie they’ve added more than 40 flavors, filled cookies (think of an oatmeal cookie with apple pie filling and fancier) and pricier specialty cookies, such as Baklava.
More recently, at nine of the stores, they’ve added a croissant with a cookie baked inside, called a Chip Krookie. That creation has gone viral, co-founder/co-owner Teddy Gailas said.
Now Chip City will open its third store in the state Friday at West Hartford’s Blue Back Square. It will be the 36th overall and if it’s anything like other openings, guests can expect a line on that first day, Gailas said.
The first 100 customers will get a free cookie with a purchase.
“We really believe in delighting our customers,” Gailas, 37, said.
Gailas and his business partner/ friend Peter Phillips, 36, started in a small space in Queens about seven years ago with a sign telling people to follow them on Instagram.
He said the business started as a side gig that was only opened a few hours a week.
But their brand soon soared on social media, along with customers’ taste buds.
Gailas had worked in the restaurant industry and Phillips in construction.
They made their original chocolate chip cookie with brown sugar huge, he said, to attain that crispiness on the outside and gooiness on the inside.
“There’s a different texture in every bite,” Gailas said.
Since then, they have adopted a weekly rotating menu with a selection of nine flavors posted on Fridays through social media.
“It keeps things fun and lively,” Gailas said.
Five of the nine are their highest demand cookies and they are: chocolate chip, s’mores, confetti, cookies and cream, and dairy free chocolate chip.
The other four rotating flavors are from their selection of more than 50 flavors, he said. They also have one additional dairy-free option in the rotating flavors.
The big cookies are all served warm and the store carries milk. Customers also can get their cookies a la mode. They deliver through Uber Eats and ship nationally.
Chip City also has seasonal cookies, such as a sweet potato s’mores around Thanksgiving.
They carry cookies with “interesting” filling, Gailas said, such as Nutella sea salt, blueberry cheesecake, oatmeal apple pie, and peanut butter and jelly.
They also have five specialty cookies limited for a day, “here and there,” he said.
Those are more “labor intensive with more expensive ingredients,” Gailas said.
The types include Italian rainbow cookies and, cinnamon roll, black and white, strawberry shortcake and a baklava cookie that’s so popular they have to limit it to four per person, “because we sell out,” he said.
Their Chip Krookie, the croissant creation, will be available at the new West Hartford store.
The other Chip City stores in Connecticut are in Darien an Fairfield, he said.
Their out-of-state stores are in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and Florida. They are all corporate run as opposed to franchised.
Gailas said they chose to open in West Hartford for several reasons, including because it’s a family-oriented community, they have “great” co-tenants, the town is a nice mix of business and residential and a “great neighborhood.”
Gailas said the cookie store is something guests might visit during a night or day of other activities in the same way they might visit an ice cream parlor.
Paul Brandes, Principal of Brand Street Properties, which operates Blue Back Square, said they’re excited to welcome Chip City to the complex.
“We know our customers and the community here in West Hartford will truly enjoy these delicious cookies and their offerings,” he said. “Chip City is a great addition to our amazing lineup of restaurants and eateries here at Blue Back.”