New Ownership for Grandma's Cookie Jar

Grandma's Cookie Jar, a symbol of the Yeshiva University campus, has been acquired by new owners. Brothers Daniel and Steven Brody, originally from Miami, bought the venerable institution approximately a month ago. The new owners are both Yeshiva graduates, Steven having matriculated in 1987 and Daniel in 1995. The brothers recognized the growth potential of the Washington Heights bakery, and soon thereafter became first time players in the food industry game. Before purchasing Grandma's, the Brody's worked in the shop for a few weeks, learning the ancient recipes and vowing "not to change one thing in the mouth-watering cookies and muffins."

The previous owner, affectionately known as Grandpa, worked by himself, and was therefore not capable of taking bold steps toward growth and further development of his great product. Expanding into newer and bolder markets is on the forefront of the Brody's minds. There has been much interest expressed by the brothers regarding the possibility of a Grandma's opening either in Brooklyn or downtown Manhattan.

Additionally, Grandma's is going to join the rest of the cyber world by launching their new site, www.grandmascookiejar.com. The website, which the Brody's hope to have up and running very shortly, will offer store information, ideas and suggestions for new products, and the opportunity to purchase products online to be shipped worldwide. The brothers feel the most exciting aspect of the future online location is "the display of over a dozen pre-packaged cookie jars, available for every occasion and celebration."

The Brody's also feel that their product can break into the wholesale market, and they soon hope to have Grandma's muffins and cookies in supermarkets across the United States. Althought the street-cart market has thus far remained untapped by the baked-goods industry, the brothers are currently interested in the possibility of making Grandma's delicacies available for sale alongside hot-dogs and jumbo pretzels.

As for the store on Yeshiva's campus, the Brody's plan no major changes. The quaint ambiance of the bakery will be upheld and the store's beloved staff will remain the same. The Brody's did, however, clean out the storeroom below the bakery which included what weighed out to more than a ton of garbage "creating valuable space to keep paper goods and the like." Cleaning crews were also brought in to scrub down all the walls and most of the baking equipment.

The future of Grandma's Cookies Jar is certainly looking, and most importantly tasting, wonderful.