MELISSA LAU, Staff Writer
When Bonnie and Greg Yoder wanted to add something sweet to their community,
they thought of warm smiles and the ultimate comfort food -- freshly baked cookies.
It all began when the Yoders bought the licenses to the recipes of the Cookie
Tree in Bonnie's home town, Yuba City. The Cookie Tree branches out, not through
small franchises, but by selling the rights to its cookie recipes.
The Yoders took those recipes and opened their own shop, Crumbles Cookies in
Corona. Through the license, the Yoders now have the recipes for 60 varieties
of cookies, brownies and pastries in their hands.
Crumbles Cookies, which opened in November 2005, is the Cookie Tree's newest
seedling.
Russ and Sue Smith, owners of The Cookie Tree, wanted to make sure that the
Yoders would have a successful venture, so they helped the Yoders design the
Crumbles Cookies store and advised them on which cookies would be the best to
start off with. Russ Smith said they helped the Yoders lay out the kitchen and
advised them how equipment should be arranged.
In addition, the Smiths trained the Yoders, even having them stay at their home
last summer.
"We're like family,'' said Bonnie. "It's amazing.''
The Smiths even flew to Corona to make sure Crumbles Cookies was in a good location.
Russ Smith said a good location is necessary to a successful venture.
Bonnie Yoder chose the location of Crumbles Cookies to appeal to the local businesses
around town. Her goal is to have people come in and buy one cookie to eat, then
buy a dozen to take to work.
"We wanted to be located in the business community,'' said Bonnie Yoder.
Crumbles Cookies bakes 12 selections daily, trying to produce a variety of cookies
in a the most efficient manner. To enable customers to taste all the varieties
the store has to offer, the Yoders run cookie specials Monday through Friday.
They can ship the goodies as well.
What makes Crumbles Cookies stand out from the batch is the use of fresh ingredients.
The store's employees rise early every day to start baking at 5 a.m. It usually
takes three to four hours to finish baking the day's selections.
Aside from satiating the everyday sweet-tooth craving, Crumbles Cookies offers
a variety of special cookie assortments, from Valentine's Day platters and buckets
to wedding favors. The store also offers a selection of pastries, water, coffee,
juice, and, of course, milk.
While the kitchen is usually Greg's area, Bonnie has dibs on packaging up the
goodies in the most beautiful way.
"Decorating is my thing,'' said Bonnie Yoder. "It's my passion.''
With a selection of colorful cellophane and ribbon, there are decorating ideas
for various occasions.
When Crumbles Cookies has leftovers, the sweets are packaged and sold at a discount
as Yesterday's Best. If there are Yesterday's Best cookies left over, they are
donated to God's Kitchen, a feeding facility in Corona.
"We pick them up every Wednesday morning,'' said Bettie Schultz, executive
director of God's Kitchen. Each day, God's Kitchen offers guests their choice
of cookie with their meal. Crumbles Cookies has donated about 150 dozen cookies
to the facility.
God's Kitchen is made up entirely of volunteers, without any paid staff or any
government funding.
"That's why it's called God's Kitchen,'' Schultz said. "He takes care
of the funding with people like Crumbles Cookies and other organizations.''
"They're just very caring people,'' Schultz said.
Melissa Lau can be reached by e-mail at melissa.lau@dailybulletin.com or by
phone at (909) 987-6397, Ext. 556.
FYI:
WHAT: Crumbles Cookies
WHERE: 1191-C Magnolia Ave., Corona
HOURS: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays
INFORMATION: (951) 270-2627 or visit www.crumblescookies.com
Daily specials:
Mondays: White chocolate almond, molasses, and black, white and tan cookies
Tuesdays: Coconut Crispies, Russian tea cake, Mexican wedding cake and raspberry
tea cake
Wednesdays: Peanut butter fudge, mint fudge and chocolate almond joy
Thursdays: Frosted sugar and Almond joy
Fridays: Diana sugar, Pennsylvania Dutch sugar and chocolate coconut spice
Link to Daily Bulletin Article: http://dailybulletin.com/jurupa/ci_3441414