In St. Charles, lies Grandma’s Cookies. The popular spot is baking a difference one cookie at a time, but it all started with one grandma.
“She was a mom, she was a grandma, she was a friend, she was everything to everybody,” says owner, Theresa Rubio.
Introducing Charlotte Thompson.
“Everyone would come in and call her grandma,” says Rubio.
The St. Charles woman purchased the historic main street building to be a clothing store where she sold dresses and clothes for kids. It was then when she had an idea. Thompson baked cookies and gave them to children for free who came in with their parents to shop! But, these cookies caught quite a bit of attention.
“The kids were grabbing the cookies and you could see the parents saying hey grab another one,” says Rubio.
The word began to spread about how great the cookies really were and after lots of pleas from the community, she began to sell her cookies on the weekend. With her grandchildren’s help, the customers would gather and line up for these one of a kind baked goods. So, in 1976 she closed down her clothing store and officially opened, ‘Grandma’s Cookies.’
But, it was not just her delicious combo of butter and sugar, it was Thompson's heart, too. The mother of 4 kids and 24 foster kids hoped to change the lives of others, one cookie -- filled with love -- at a time.
“She was an angel here on Earth,” says Rubio
After 24 years, the business was passed down to Thompson's granddaughter, Theresa Rubio. But, Rubio was no stranger to these cookies! In fact, she helped grandma when she was as young as 10 years old.
“It was easy when they were just 25 cents, it was easy to manage money then, ya know,” says Rubio.
Now, Rubio has watched as the business continues to take off! With customers flying in from across the globe for a taste of Grandma’s Cookies. The popular spot was even being shown on ABC’s Good Morning America. But Rubio credits this success, with the mission grandma first started in 1976, where everyone who walks through these doors becomes family.
“Everybody who has come to the cookie shop has become family, that is how our regulars start happening. When they come in and Larry knows them all, he makes them feel like they are part of us,” says Rubio.
Larry has been working here for over 5 years. Many customers turn to him on their best days, their worst days or perhaps, everyday! Because it is more than just a stop into the cookie shop, it is visiting family. While these cookies really are unlike anything else, just like Charlotte Thompson started over 45 years ago, Grandma’s Cookies is a place to call home.
Plan your visit at https://grandmascookiesonmain.com/.