BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A popular cookie company is coming to Southside Bethlehem, a company spokesman said.
And it's an indication of the kind of community being built in the area, a developer's spokesman said.
An Insomnia Cookies store is not yet listed on the website's "Find a Bakery" webpage, but building permits show the chain is set to take root at the base of Six 10 Flats in Bethlehem.
The cookie company spokesperson said in an email last week the store is "expected to open this summer."
"Insomnia Cookies serves and delivers warm, delicious cookies and other sweet treats until 1 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends," the spokesperson said.
The cookie company's website also shows a job listing for a full-time general manager there.
"Insomnia Cookies is expanding and looking for strong management to join our team at the new Bethlehem, PA location," the listing says. On LinkedIn, the job listing is closed.
John Callahan, director of business development for Peron Development, which built Six 10 Flats, said he views the company's move into the Lehigh Valley as one that gives "a certain vibrancy of the downtown."
"We're so proud of all of the stuff going on in the Southside, so we think Insomnia is gonna be a good addition to that," Callahan said.
Cookie competition
It'll be the second national cookie chain to locate in the Lehigh Valley.
In July 2022, Crumbl Cookies held a grand opening for its Lower Nazareth Township location.
The following year, the cookie company opened another store just outside the Lehigh Valley in August at the Trainer's Station shopping center in the Quakertown area.
Like Insomnia Cookies, Crumbl Cookies has seen "rapid growth," as its website describes it, since being founded in 2017.
It's also the second tenant to move in on the ground floor of the Bethlehem apartment building.
Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands announced in December 2024 it "proudly opened their 11th Wingstop franchise location," at 614 E. Third St.
"We know the Lehigh Valley is vibrant, but it's a good indication when companies like Insomnia [Cookies] see it as well and it's a demographic they want to be a part of."John Callahan, director of business development for Peron Development
Callahan said he's heard "nothing but positive" reactions about Insomnia Cookies' impending arrival.
"It is exciting," Callahan said in a phone interview. "They're a great brand. It kind of shouts 'college town' when you see an Insomnia.
"I can tell you every town my kids went to college in had Insomnia Cookies."
'Demographic they want to be part of'
Collegiate notoriety aside, Callahan said Insomia Cookies's location in South Bethlehem is an indication of the area's attraction.
"We've been very patient about who we say yes to down here. Because we don't want individual businesses to step on each other with what kind of business they provide."John Callahan, director of business development for Peron Development, which built Six 10 Flats
"We know the Lehigh Valley is vibrant, but it's a good indication when companies like Insomnia see it as well, and it's a demographic they want to be a part of."
Callahan said the building's retail space continues to fill up and that, while he can't announce specifics, another business soon will become a tenant at Six 10 Flats.
That would leave just a 2,500-square-foot retail space remaining.
"We've been very patient about who we say yes to down here," he said. "Because we don't want individual businesses to step on each other with what kind of business they provide.
"So we're trying to create a balance that way... Once this other restaurant is announced, we'll be in pretty good shape with the retail space down there."
About Insomnia Cookies
The idea for Insomnia Cookies was born in Seth Berkowitz's dorm at the University of Pennsylvania in 2003.
The company's "About Us" webpage says Berkowitz "wanted something sweet, warm, and he wanted it brought to his door."
In the early 2000s, "late-night food options weren't cutting it," the website says.
"Seth took matters into his own hands (oven mitts?), imagining a business that catered to people just like him: Insomniacs," it says.
The first Insomnia Cookies brick-and-mortar store then opened in Syracuse, New York. The company eventually grew to launch a nationwide shipping program in 2017 and opened more than 320 stores, including locations in the United Kingdom and Canada.
The Bethlehem location would be the Lehigh Valley's first Insomnia Cookies location. The next closest locations are in Philadelphia and New Jersey.
The cookie bakery offers delivery, pickup and catering orders for its cookies. Other menu items include brownies, ice cream, wiches (ice cream sandwiches) and cookie cakes.
"Classic favorite" flavors include: chocolate chunk, classic with M&M's, double chocolate chunk, double chocolate mint, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter chip, snickerdoodle and sugar.
Also, white chocolate macadamia, vegan birthday cake, vegan chocolate chunk, vegan double chocolate chunk and gluten free chocolate chip.
The spokesperson said Chocolate Chunk "is always a favorite among our customers, along with other classic flavors such as Sugar, Snickerdoodle and Classic with M&M'S."
Prices range from $2.99 to $3.39 for limited edition flavors. Box prices, depending on the number of classic cookies and deluxe cookies, can reach up to $30 for a classic 12-pack and $27 for a deluxe six-pack.
Brownies and deluxe cookies — described as "extra big cookies with extra good stuff" — cost $4.99.
