In a family-friendly place where it’s all about the dough, there is a new sweets café in East Cobb. Called Alumni Cookie Dough, it’s conveniently located in Woodlawn Square Shopping Center, right behind Chick-fil-A. Open seven days a week from 11am-9pm, you can stop in and choose from several gourmet cookie dough flavors that are edible and delicious. Gone are the days where cookie dough consumption is off limits. In fact, this cookie dough is so good that the East Cobb location is part of an expanding cookie dough business that was voted 2021 Best Dessert in Georgia by the Georgia Business Journal.
“We invite all East Cobbers to begin 2022 with a sweet start,” says Leana Tatum, franchise co-owner with her husband, Eric. “Before you make your first cookie dough choice, we offer samples so you know exactly which one is your favorite.”
Alumni’s menu consists of at least 12 flavors of cookie dough, with most flavors consistent year-round (chocolate chip, cookies and cream, red velvet, etc.) and a few seasonal ones added for fun. Vegan, gluten free, and keto options are available. Also on the menu are cookie dough milkshakes, cookie dough/ice cream sundaes, cookie dough infused with ice cream to create Dream Creme, and sodas and drinks, including Jittery Joe’s coffee. Gifts of Dough To Go in mason jars, which can also be baked, are available at the café. Party dough-bite platters for office catering, employee events, tennis matches, Bunco, birthday parties, or whatever the occasion are available for pickup and local delivery.
The Tatums first discovered the joys of Alumni Cookie Dough when their daughter who attends the University of Georgia brought packaged cookie dough home from the original location in Athens where she worked part time. It proved to be quite a hit at their East Cobb residence. Eric immediately researched the business and found franchises were being offered.
“I had been in business in Cobb County for 26 years and had been contemplating a change,” explains Eric. “This discovery was just the spark needed. When I looked at the Alumni Cookie Dough website, I said, “Who doesn’t love cookie dough? That could be a very happy place! One event led to another and we opened in October 2021.”
Because the Tatums and their seven children are deeply rooted in East Cobb with Eric being a 1981 Walton High School graduate, one of the new venture’s greatest appeals is the prospect to work with the community. Alumni promotes fundraising programs where the local store partners with local schools to raise money by selling Alumni products at school-sponsored events. According to Eric, the East Cobb café has already joined forces with the Walton High School Band for a spirit night, the Wheeler High School Band in its concession sales, and Timber Ridge Elementary School for a fall festival.
For more information about Alumni Cookie Dough East Cobb, check it out on Facebook or Insta gram, or call at 678-756-0268. Better yet, stop in to find out which cookie dough flavor is your personal favorite. The café is located at 1205 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 118.
This article originally appears in the EAST COBBER January/February edition HERE.
