Tiff’s Treats opens its uptown location next week — bring on the warm cookie delivery

How long would you wait for a gooey chocolate chip cookie? In Arlington, Texas, a customer holds the record for waiting in line 26 hours for Tiff’s Treats’ cookies.

“I doubt anyone is going to break that here,” said Leon Chen, Tiff’s Treat’s co-owner,” but it’s so common for people to wait an insane amount of time.”

Tiff’s Treats opens its second location in uptown Charlotte at 9 a.m. on Dec. 7. The first location opened in Waverly in August.

Customers may purchase just-baked chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies – $2 for one dozen — at the grand opening.

Each box contains one flavor. But there’s a limit of three dozen cookies, just in case you thought you could stock up for the year. (At least, that was my thinking.)

Tiff’s Treats’ owners, Leon Chen and Tiffany Chen, are a husband and wife team – celebrating 10 years married and 20 years in the cookie delivery business together.

Giving back

The first 40 people in line receive a Tiff’s Treats’ $100 gift card, and anyone over the age of 18 waiting in line at 9 a.m. gets a $10 gift card. Remember to look in your box: Prizes from local shops and businesses and a chance to win free cookies for a year may be hidden with the cookies.

Each of Tiff Treats’ grand openings benefit a charitable organization in the new store’s community. Like the opening at Waverly Walk Avenue in August, the funds will benefit Special Olympics Mecklenburg County. Five dollars for every dozen sold will be donated to the Special Olympics Mecklenburg County, up to $5,000. Bring a new regulation basketball to donate and receive a $5 Tiff’s Treats gift card.

“The funds will go toward our winter basketball program, which serves over 485 athletes in our school-based and community-based programs,” said Special Olympics Mecklenburg County director Greg Morrill.

Brooklyn Decker and Andy Roddick

Actress Brooklyn Decker and her husband, tennis professional Andy Roddick, met the Tiff’s Treats’ owners in 2015 and became investors in the company. It wasn’t a hard decision because they were already big fans of Tiff’s Treats – Roddick introduced Decker to his favorite cookie, snickerdoodles, on one of their first dates.

The Charlotte choice of charity was an easy decision, Decker said. Decker’s been volunteering with Special Olympics Mecklenburg County since she was a teenager. Her aunt is a SOMC athlete. Decker serves as a global ambassador for Special Olympics, speaking at events and raising awareness.

She attended the opening in August and said she noticed how many coaches and athletes came out for the event. The coaches and athletes gave interviews and signed autographs.

“What I loved about the first opening [in Charlotte] was that so many coaches and athletes came out,” Decker said. “They were signing autographs and doing interviews. The best thing for the inclusion movement is exposure.”

Classic cookies

The company keeps the menu simple, offering cookie flavors you remember your mom making, said Tiffany Chen. A flavor of the week, typically a seasonal variety, rotates every few weeks. Beginning Monday, Dec. 2, mint chocolate chip is available through Christmas.

“We do have a lot of fun with playing around with new recipes,” Tiffany Chen said. “Everybody at Tiff’s Treats are welcome to throw their ideas around.”

The regular menu includes chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, oatmeal raisin, sugar, peanut butter, M&M, chocolate chip pecan, peanut butter chocolate chip, oatmeal chocolate chip, and white chocolate chip and almond cookies.

The store carries Blue Bell ice cream, milk and brownies. Try the Tiffwich – an ice cream sandwich with two warm cookies and cold vanilla ice cream. Indulge in the Tiffblitz with cold vanilla ice cream blended with chunks of chocolate chip cookies and fudgy brownie bites topped with crumbled sugar cookies.

Tiff’s Trio is the newest item on the menu. It’s three decadent brownies: a traditional chocolate brownie, a salted caramel blondie and a peanut butter chocolate bar brownie.

This holiday, Tiff’s Treats introduces a Take-and-Bake cookie kit featuring Tiff’s Treats’ classic chocolate chip cookie dough balls, freshly mixed and frozen, ready to bake at home for unexpected guests or a cozy movie night at home. Pick up now through Dec. 24, or get one delivered to your door.

Why uptown

Decker was thrilled when she heard her hometown of Charlotte was next on the company’s expansion plan. She told the Chens to anticipate great things from Charlotte, and they haven’t been let down. Expectations for Tiff’s Treats in the Charlotte market have been exceeded, Leon Chen said.

“A central business district is really key for what we do,” Tiffany Chen said. “We do a lot of deliveries while people are at work, whether it’s business to business or personal. A ton of our orders happen during people’s work days. Anytime we get a really strong business area, that’s where we want to be.”

By the end of this week, Tiff’s Treats will have 57 stores in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. A third Charlotte store is scheduled to open in SouthPark in 2020.

Tiff’s Treats

550 E. Stonewall St.

Grand opening: Dec. 7, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Regular hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-10 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Instagram: @tiffstreats

This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 11:29 AM.