Crumbl Cookies, the popular chain of gourmet cookies, will open its long awaited Champaign location with a grand opening on Friday, Aug. 23, owner Deb Platon told chambanamoms.com.
Crumbl’s opening has been widely anticipated by its legion of fans. Crumbl revealed last September that it was planning a Champaign location, which has now taken root at 2005 S. Neil St., in the space formerly occupied by Smallcakes. But the opening has been impeded by construction delays.
While the wait has been agonizing for fans, it has also been quite a journey for the store’s owners. Platon said she cried “happy tears” upon hearing the news that Crumbl has the go-ahead to start slinging cookies and other desserts in Champaign.
The chain has more than 800 stores, including a location in Normal.
A sign in the Crumbl storefront window says it will be open from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Crumbl cookies are mega-sized, with its online nutrition facts describing 1/4 of a cookie as a serving size (but really, who stops there). Available varieties rotate weekly and can be ordered ahead of time on its app or at an in-store kiosk upon arrival. Crumbl is best known for its signature mega-cookies but also offers smaller cookies for purchase.
Crumbl first arrived in Central Illinois in 2021, when it opened in Peoria. A Bloomington-Normal store followed, opening in December 2022.
In July 2023, the Springfield Business Journal reported that the Peoria franchisee is planning a store in the Illinois capitol city.
Each custom order is assembled as close to your pickup time as possible, with some varieties assembled right before you pick up your box. Some of the cookies are chilled; many are not.
Crumbl has quite the customer base, with many customers insistent on returning every week when the cookie varieties change. You’ll find the weekly menu lasting Monday-Saturday each week, with locations closed on Sundays.
Crumbl opened its first store in Utah in 2017, near Utah State University, with two cousins taking their “perfect cookie quest” to the people, according to their story on the company website.