Crumbl Cookies to come to Franklin Street, although opening date remains unknown

Crumbl Cookies is coming to Franklin Street, but the location is in the early stages of development, so no opening date has been released yet.

“The owners are so excited to bring sweet treats to the Chapel Hill community,” Crumbl Public Relations Strategist Cassidy Salisbury said in an email statement.

The store will be located at 133 W. Franklin St. Suite 150 between Alumni Hall and Arrow barber shop.

Since the first Crumbl store opened in Logan, Utah in 2017, the brand has exploded in popularity. Crumbl has 528 locations across the United States as of July 14. Until now, the closest location to Chapel Hill was near The Streets at Southpoint in Durham.

Rising UNC senior Gabriela Duncan tweeted a picture of the location with the new Crumbl sign that alerted many students to the new location. 

She said she and her friends were walking from the Chipotle on West Franklin Street to YoPo when she spotted a Crumbl sign on the empty building near Carolina Square. 

“We walked by and I just looked up and I saw that there was a Crumbl Cookies sign, like, oh, wait a second," she said. "So I know there's a new Cook Out and there's a Bojangles on campus, but I did not receive any word about this."

Crumbl is known for its rotating menu of cookie flavors, some served warm and others chilled. Milk Chocolate Chip is always available, and four to five other flavors change weekly.

The cookies are large, measuring four-and-a-half inches across, and come neatly packed in one of Crumbl’s signature baby pink boxes. Crumbl currently does not offer keto, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan or kosher options.

“They're definitely big cookies, but they're also really sweet,” rising UNC senior Tushar Varma said. "So even if I get a four-pack or half dozen or whatever they come in, I feel like I can only eat half at a time."

Crumbl has garnered fame on social media. Every Sunday, the business reveals its upcoming weekly flavors in highly-produced TikTok videos with whipping camera angles, usually set to bouncy music. 

Right now, the brand has 5.5 million followers on TikTok alone.

Crumbl has also benefited from the growing trend of TikTok creators making Crumbl review videos, where people film themselves trying the weekly flavors, offering commentary and giving the cookies a score out of ten. The hashtag #crumblcookiereview on TikTok has over 13 million views.

Varma said he thinks Crumbl’s branding contributes to its popularity.

“Something about the way they present themselves makes them really appealing and aesthetically pleasing," he said. "And you can also get points and stuff and rewards, and who doesn't love a free cookie?”

Crumbl's reward system is available through its app, where points — called "crumbs" — can be earned by making purchases.

While there’s no doubt that Crumbl is highly anticipated by UNC students, Varma said the store will have to compete with Insomnia Cookies which is just a few blocks down Franklin Street.

He added that even though Crumbl is more expensive, students might be interested in something new and fresh.

Duncan said she is excited for the new location to open.

“I know that a lot of people compare it to Insomnia, and I believe people are pretty loyal to our Franklin Street Insomnia, so it will be interesting to see if there can be two cookie places that survive,” she said.

Crumbl offers curbside pickup, delivery, shipping and catering in addition to in-store purchases. 

Normal operating hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Crumbl stores are closed on Sundays nationwide. 

@fallonpmaher

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