The bright colors and quaint simplicity of Urban Cookies immediately gives the customer a sense of cheer when walking in the door. Not to mention, there are cookies on the mind.
Two ASU alums have used their personal philosophies for eco-friendly living to begin Urban Cookies. Shaun and Brady Breese, who both graduated from ASU in 1998, opened the business by combining Brady’s abilities as a “homegrown chef” and Shaun’s marketing background from a journalism degree.
The couple opened Urban Cookies two and a half years ago in Phoenix. “We wanted a cookie that tastes good with fantastic packaging,” Shaun says. “We really wanted to be a simple company.”
Urban Cookies searched around the world to find the best organic ingredients, which benefit the consumer and the environment. The Breese’s make sure all of their ingredients come from socially responsible companies and facilities. “Being organic is important to us personally,” Shaun says. “When we started [Urban Cookies], we wanted our personal values in the company. We choose purveyors and suppliers who do the least damage to the Earth.”
The Breese’s have created a business that is less wasteful in production, uses recyclable packaging and supports the community financially and with charity work.
“Any time we try to buy something, we think ‘local first,’” she says. “Together [local businesses] are creating a small community and we use each other for resources.”
Featuring four gourmet cookies with outstanding flavors and unbeatable texture, these cookies are hard not to love. The four main cookies are available for purchase each day with a couple additional different cookies created each day.
The Urban Cookie is where it all began. Made from dark chocolate, rolled oats, toasted walnuts and coconut bits, each flavor sets off the others to compose a balance that is distinct and fresh.
For those craving a simpler cookie, sample the Simple Urban, which is comprised of milk chocolate layers with dark brown sugar, whole-wheat flour and pure bourbon vanilla from Madagascar.
And those are just two of the choices.
For the fall, Urban Cookies also comes out with flavors such as peanut butter and pumpkin pecan.
They continue to make changes to be more eco-friendly both in their product and store environment. The couple’s goal for 2009 is to continue making renovations to the 1950s building they occupy, to use less energy and water and to sell their products in corn-based bags.
Urban Cookies is the perfect place to pick up a last minute gift, whether it be a box of fresh cookies, starting at 8 cookies for $25, or an individual treat for $2.50 a piece. Each gift box sold is a donation for the 4Evergreen Project, which plants trees with the Arbor Day Foundation in honor of the Christmas trees cut down during the holidays. What is a cookie without milk to accompany the sweet treat? Urban sells milk, cold coffees and teas — all of which are organic.
Stop in and have a taste of these deliciously decadent sweets. It won’t be long until the Urban Cookie craving strikes again.
Reach the reporter at jvanzale@asu.edu.
