DePaul University students and other Lincoln Park nightowls now have a new way to satisfy their late-night munchies: cookies and milk delivered to your doorstep by Insomnia Cookies, which opened its first Illinois location in Lincoln Park Tuesday.
"Lincoln Park has everything we look for in a city location: the bars, the nightlife, and with DePaul right here it was kind of just a win," said marketing manager Renee Sarnecky. The shop at 2260 N. Lincoln Ave. is the 32nd location for the company, which was founded in 2003 by a student at the University of Pennsylvania and has since spread to serves dozens of other colleges including Western Michigan University, Ohio State University, New York University and University of South Carolina.
Sarnecky said that the Lincoln Park location has already been getting an enthusiastic response from locals who recognize the brand from their undergrad years or visiting friends at their schools. "Every night we see an increase in deliveries," she said. "The word's starting to spread."
The store is open from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily, offering gooey cookies in varieties such as chocolate chunk, oatmeal raisin, double chocolate-mint and white chocolate-macadamia along with brownies ($1.25-$2.50 apiece). You can order them a la mode, fashioned into a cookie-ice cream sandwich or skip the cookie altogether and go for ice cream with mix-in toppings such as M&Ms, peanut butter chips and walnuts.
Most of their business is to-go, but the shop is outfitted with a pair of counters with stools where you can hang out and have your treat with a bottle of water, milk or chocolate milk.
The store's whole menu is available for delivery from 5 p.m. to 2:45 a.m. nightly. Cyclists make deliveries so the range is small, bounded by Lakewood Avenue, Lincoln Park, Diversey Parkway and Armitage Avenue. This also ensures that the cookies arrive warm and the ice cream stays cold. Delivery orders can be placed online at insomniacookies.com or by calling 877-632-6654.
Insomnia is planning on spreading the word about its new location by making appearances at festivals and other events this summer. While Sarnecky wouldn't give details about where they'll be opening next, she did say it's unlikely this location will remain the only one in the area.
"I definitely think there will be a downtown location in the future at some point," Sarnecky said. "I see the demand in the city for another one."
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