Imagine a place where bold flavor, creative ideas and quality ingredients come together to create a truly unique eating experience. A place where cookies and potato chips can be combined and consumed as one. This place does exist— it’s called The Cookie Dude, located in Lewisburg, Pa. Owner, baker, and visionary of The Cookie Dude Dan MacArthur started his business to make people happy and fulfill his lifetime dream of owning a bakery. For MacArthur, making money was never the first priority. The store has been in operation for five years but just opened its Lewisburg location on September 12 of this year. As the business generated from the campus community increased, the old location was no longer working. While MacArthur was happy to make these deliveries to campus, driving 15 minutes both ways to complete them took up time and resources. Relocating to Lewisburg made sense so that the large market there would be more easily satisfied. The clientele of The Cookie Dude is split 50/50 between community members and University moms, which emphasizes how often students ask for cookies for special events or occasions.

In addition to running The Cookie Dude, Dan MacArthur works a full-time job at a software company. Despite the stress that entrepreneurship brings, Dan finds joy in his daily routine. His motivation is from both his family and the fantastic people he’s met through his business. One particularly memorable exchange MacArthur describes involved a young boy who came into the store and wanted a cookie with red, orange and yellow sprinkles because those were his favorite flavors. At that moment, The Cookie Dude only had orange and blue sprinkles (University colors), but Dan still let the child pick out his own sprinkles and help to decorate the cookie he wanted. Dan said that this exchange was special for both of them, and that it’s moments like those that fuel the passion behind his business.

“Everything is made fresh from scratch. Baking is an art form, and we have high standards here at The Cookie Dude. I hope people are excited; if you have special flavors that you want, put in pre-orders because they dictate the shop menu. We like to think of ourselves as a cookie democracy. What the people want the people will get!” Dan said.

The main goal of The Cookie Dude is to spark joy throughout the community and within our campus. Based on the reviews thus far, I would say that The Cookie Dude definitely succeeds in this goal. “I will never forget my experience with The Cookie Dude! During COVID last year, he was one of the only ways that we could celebrate my roommate’s birthday. He was clearly dedicated and passionate about his work, and the cookies were amazing.” junior Natalie Paganelli said.

Before delivery, The Cookie Dude sends an individualized text which makes the experience feel both more personal and exciting. For a birthday delivery the cookies will oftentimes arrive with balloons, again emphasizing that The Cookie Dude always prioritizes the customer experience.

The Cookie Dude’s cookie recipes are entirely original and are the culmination of the owner’s creative writing and cooking experience. Dan works extra hard to perfect his recipes; in fact, his original chocolate chip cookie recipe took 17 tries to nail! “If you can’t make a good chocolate chip cookie you won’t have a successful business,” his wife said. From this chocolate chip cookie recipe, The Cookie Dude has branched out and created a wide variety of unique flavors. Using powdered Swedish Fish for added texture and flavor is just one example of the kind of innovation you can expect to see at this bakery. To add to the excitement, the name of each cookie is inspired by pop culture references (i.e., Pirate Bootay), and you can find at least 25-30 flavors in addition to the custom orders that The Cookie Dude fulfills for private events. In the future, the Cookie Dude hopes to add other baked goods beyond just cookies.

If you want to have fun, eat great food and support the community in a special way, stop by The Cookie Dude in Lewisburg. The shop has new baked goods in the works so that you can expect even more than cookies in the future. Follow The Cookie Dude on Instagram (@thecookie.dude) and call them with any special requests at 570-939-4241. The store is open Thursday-Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is located on 335 Market St.