‘It snowballed.’ New cookie shop in Columbus goes viral. Meet the owner
A new gourmet cookie shop has taken the online foodie community by storm.
The Cookie Co., 3540 Massee Lane, has gone viral. Since its opening May 8, several glowing online reviews have been posted in the Columbus, GA Foodies Facebook group.
Online users have been complimenting the shop about its high-quality dough, cookie softness and kind customer service. One post, which garnered over 800 likes, exclaimed, “TAKE ALL OF OUR MONEY.”
The owner, Laura Parsons, told the Ledger-Enquirer the reviews have brought lines of customers into the store. Cookies have been selling out almost every day, leading the shop to often close early for restocking.
“We never actually did a grand opening, because it kind of snowballed,” Parsons said. “We really didn’t announce it, but we did have several people just stop in, and then it got shared.”
The success of The Cookie Co. has brought Parsons a complexity of emotions. On one hand, she expressed excitement and gratitude for her business strongly resonating with the local community. On the other, she said she doesn’t like disappointing her customers with the early closures.
“I hate disappointing people when we have to close or sell out, because we don’t have the capacity,” Parsons said. “We don’t have ovens that you can walk into and bake a whole rack. … We want to keep it to where we’re making it fresh every day.”
Parsons has been working 12 hours per day since the opening with help from her two employees and her husband, Charles.
“It’s overwhelming,” Parsons said, “We did not anticipate any of this, so it’s definitely a blessing.”
From TikTok cookie decorating to sold-out storefront
Parsons’ original plan with The Cookie Co. was to mainly sell her custom-decorated sugar cookies. This was the same business model since she started selling cookies four years ago.
Parsons started her business from her home to help raise money for her son’s private school tuition. She was not a baker and hasn’t gotten any formal baking training. She taught herself through watching videos.
“I’ve always been like a crafty and creative person,” Parsons said. “Honestly, during COVID, I watched cookie decorating videos on TikTok and I was like ‘Oh, I could do that.’ I’ve always been able to catch on to things like that.”
Her business began to grow through word of mouth, starting with selling cookies at home then expanding into selling at vendor events. Eventually, her business outgrew her kitchen.
After searching for a location, she selected in Old Town a storefront which used to be a cake bakery. Old Town appealed to her because it felt like home, she said.
“I grew up in Michigan, and my small town that I grew up in actually looks just like [Old Town] but times 10,” Parsons said. “I was drawn to this [location], because this is how I grew up and what it looked like. I love the small-town feel of it.”
Selling gourmet cookies wasn’t originally a part of Parson’s plan for the store.
Her gourmet cookies were sold exclusively at vendor events. And when she got her storefront, she intended to keep them as a side product to supplement her business while she fulfilled her custom cookie decorating orders. But, with the high demand, Parsons decided to pivot.
“When this place became available, I thought that I would do my decorated sugar cookies, and I would just sell the gourmet cookies, a couple throughout the day, whenever people came in,” Parsons said. “I didn’t think that it would be this crazy with people wanting gourmet cookies.”
The most popular cookie at The Cookie Co. is the classic chocolate chip, Parsons said. However, other flavors like the Cookie Monster, a blue-colored sugar cookie stuffed with mini Oreos and chocolate chip cookies, Cookie Butter and Peanut Butter chip have been popular with online reviewers.
The shop rotates 12 cookie flavors per day. Available flavors are posted to the shop’s Instagram and Facebook pages before opening.
The future of The Cookie Co.
Parsons hopes The Cookie Co. can better serve the community as it continues to grow.
“We wanted to service the people around here who were just walking around, or people after work, and unfortunately, with the rush that we’ve been having, we’re closing before we can even service those people,” Parsons said. “I would love to get to the point where we can still be open later for the residents who are walking around.”
The Cookie Co. is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, unless there is an early closure. Closures are announced on their Instagram, @thecookiecoga and Facebook page.
Parsons said customers can order cookies for pickup on the shop’s website, thecookiecoga.com. This option gives customers a chance to get the flavors they want to try ahead of time.
This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 12:58 PM.