Great American Cookie Co.,
doing business as
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
Great American Cookies is an American chain of independently owned and operated franchised stores that specialize in gourmet
cookies
A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chi ...
, especially
cookie cakes. It has over 290 stores in the U.S., particularly in the Southeast as well as
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, most commonly located in
mall
Mall commonly refers to a:
* Shopping mall
* Strip mall
* Pedestrian street
* Esplanade
Mall or MALL may also refer to:
Places Shopping complexes
* The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria
* The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India
...
s. The company was founded in 1977 and has its headquarters in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
. It is since 2010 a franchise brand in the portfolio of
Global Franchise Group
Global Franchise Group was a brand-acquisition and management firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It specialized in franchising and quick-service restaurant industries. It was founded in 2010 with the acquisition of NexCen ...
.
History
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. That same year the first store opened in Atlanta's
Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall is a shopping mall in Perimeter Center, Dunwoody, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, near the interchange of Interstate 285 (the Perimeter) and Georgia State Route 400. It is the second largest shopping mall in the state of Georgia, ...
.
The first store in Perimeter Mall became successful in its first month, and the company first became franchised the year after its opening. By 1985, the company had revenue of $100 million per year and was the largest retail cookie chain in the U.S.
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.
When Coles sold the firm to
Mrs. Fields Famous Brands in 1998, the company had sales of over $100 million. 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
Marble Slab Creamery (Marble Slab) is an American chain of ice cream shops owned by FAT Brands. Its corporate offices are in Atlanta, Georgia.
There are more than 392 stores in various countries, all independently owned and franchised.
Histo ...
,
MaggieMoo's Ice Cream and Treatery and
Pretzelmaker
Pretzelmaker is a chain of independently owned and operated franchised stores that specialize in hand-rolled pretzels, smoothies and cold beverages. It is a franchise brand in the portfolio of Global Franchise Group. It has more than 280 locatio ...
. 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.
On June 28, 2021, Global Franchise Group announced that it would be acquired by
FAT Brands
FAT Brands is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.
History
FAT Brands began as a holding company for Fatburger in 2017, gaining a chairman in Ed Rensi. On August 13, 2020, Johnny Rockets was ...
, owners of
Fatburger
Fatburger North America Inc. (doing business as Fatburger) is an American fast casual restaurant chain. Its tagline is ''The Last Great Hamburger Stand''. While it is a fast food restaurant, the food is cooked and made to order. Some Fatburge ...
and
Johnny Rockets
}
The Johnny Rockets Group Inc. is an American restaurant franchise whose themed decor is based upon 1950s diner-style restaurants. Décor includes Coca-Cola advertising, featuring nearly life-size cardboard illustrations of women in World War ...
. The acquisition was completed on July 22.
References
Further reading
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External links
Official Great American Cookies website
{{Fast-food chains of the United States
Companies based in Atlanta
Brand name cookies
Fast-food franchises
Bakeries of the United States
American companies established in 1977
Restaurants established in 1977
1977 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
2008 mergers and acquisitions