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One Hot Cookie thrives in Erie Terminal Square
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One Hot Cookie owner Bergen Giordani, right, and her daughter, Morgen Giordani, display customized cookies. Bergen opened the shop in April at 112 W. Commerce St. in Erie Terminal Square in downtown Youngstown. Morgen also works there. At top left, a sampling of cookies available at the store, which also sells locally made Katie’s Korner ice cream.
Entrepreneur sees possibility of making dough with cookies
YOUNGSTOWN
Food options in downtown Youngstown got a little sweeter with the addition of One Hot Cookie.
The store’s owner, Bergen Giordani, said she had always wanted to have a small business.
“I came up with this idea in November, and we found the space and were able to open in April,” Giordini said, “Things came together really fast.”
The store is the first retail business in Erie Terminal Square at 112 W. Commerce St.
When Giordani first thought of the idea to open a cookie shop in the downtown she looked to see if there were any franchise ideas available but was unable to find one, she said.
“I had always dabbled in baking, and I thought, ‘How hard can it be? I’m only making cookies,’” Giordani said.
The trend for desserts is moving away from cupcakes and toward cookies, she said.
In addition to cookies, the store also offers locally made ice cream from Katie’s Korner Home Made Ice Cream in Hubbard. The menu also includes ice cream sandwiches and sundaes.
Bergen’s 16-year-old daughter, Morgen, works at the shop and said the cookies go straight from the oven to a steam warming holding area that keeps the cookies at 120 degrees without drying them out.
Hence the name of One Hot Cookie, Bergen Giordani said.
Thus far, cookies sell better earlier in the day and “anything with ice cream” sells well in the evening, said Morgen Giordani.
The point of having the store downtown was so it would be part of the city’s entertainment district, Bergen Giordani said.
“Boardman, Poland and Canfield are great, but there isn’t a central area where people can get out walk around,” she said. “Friday and Saturday nights it feels like a big city down here.”
The other perk is the store is right on the path between Youngstown State University and Youngstown’s downtown, Bergen Giordani said. Proximity to the university already has proved useful.
“We had an uptick of sales during finals week. It’s a time when people need a little extra sugar,” she said. “Overall sales have gone up every month we’ve been open.”
The expectation for the store is that business will continue to increase as more retail opens in Erie Terminal Square and other businesses open downtown, Bergen Giordani said.
“We consider any development downtown positive for our business,” she said.
One Hot Cookie is not the only recent development downtown. Warehouse 50 has also opened downtown.
In addition, the former William Leonard’s Extraordinary Gentlemen store soon will become a coffee house, Friends Roastery.
Cafe Cimmento closed, and plans are to add a Los Gallos to the spot. In addition, Guy’s Barbecue has taken over the kitchen operations at the Lemon Grove with the new name, Guy’s at the Grove. The Gallagher Building is also being renovated and is scheduled to become apartments and a high-end burger joint.