Zach “Schmackary” Schmahl opened Schmackary’s in 2011 in Manhattan’s Theater District. The cookie shop has caught the attention of Broadway stars such as Lin Manuel Miranda and Neil Patrick Harris.
Schmackary’s founder Zach Schmahl always jokes that he has no business owning a cookie store. The former actor turned his love of baking new cookie flavors into a business in Manhattan’s Theater District.
“I’m not just a typical chocolate chip cookie guy,” Schmahl said. But don’t worry, Schmackary’s does carry the signature flavor. “For me, it was all about, let’s come up with a bunch of crazy flavors, and we’ll always be rotating our flavors and just continuously upping the ante.”
Some of those crazy flavors are Sweet Corn—Schmahl’s favorite—inspired by corn bread; the Corny Cowboy, with bacon, cheddar and jalapenos; and a vegan flavor called the Hummingbird, with oats and banana. The cookie store, opened in 2011, has caught the attention of many Broadway stars, including Lin Manuel Miranda, Kristin Chenoweth and Neil Patrick Harris.
Schmackary’s recently launched its franchise program, and Schmahl is looking for the first 10 franchisees. “We are going to coddle and support them just as much as we possibly can, because we’re going to learn from them just as much as they’re going to learn from us,” he said. “Once we feel like we have those routes established, it’s go time. I would love to see 500 or 1,000 stores.”
The cookie brand partnered with franchise development company Fransmart to expand. Founder Dan Rowe first noticed Schmackary’s during a visit to New York. “There was a line down the block—and any time there’s a line outside of a business, that’s a sign of something special,” he said via email. “The wait was worth every second.”
The concept focuses on the “old American” bakery experience, or as Schmahl explained, “kind of like Norman Rockwell went to get a cookie.” The ambience and mission need to be replicated perfectly from store to store. “We’re only going to accept 100 percent of our brand practices 100 percent of the time under 100 percent of the circumstances,” he said.
Schmackary’s had three stores in New York City, but when the pandemic hit Schmahl closed two. “Our entire company for a short period of time became a nationwide shipping company, and that’s all we did, because that’s all we could do,” Schmahl said.
Schmackary’s sales passed $2 million in 2022, with start-up costs ranging from $266,650 to $656,500. The cookie space is quickly gaining new franchisors, with major player Crumbl as the brand to beat—so much so that other Utah-based cookie brands have been deemed part of the “#UtahCookieWars.” Legacy franchises in the space include Great American Cookies.
In competing with Crumbl, Schmahl and Fransmart aren’t worried. “Customers vote with their wallets, and I’d dare anyone to lay their numbers down against ours,” Rowe said. “Crumbl is the only real competition Schmackary’s has when it comes to sales. We’re going after the No. 2 spot in cookies, understanding that Crumbl is at the top right now.”
Rowe believes Crumbl has oversaturated its markets. “Our goal is to have slightly fewer locations in each market to keep sales and profits high for our franchisees,” he said.
Schmackary’s has a commissary in the basement of the New York store, where it produces dough for thousands of cookies a day. Dough is put in tubs and frozen, where it can last up to three months. “The most amazing thing about cookies is they’re best from frozen,” Schmahl said.
When the brand expands, Schmackary’s will deliver frozen dough to franchisees to bake cookies in-house. “You still get all the experience of the smells and visceral feeling, but they are not going to have to deal with the huge mess of coming up with 90-plus flavors,” he said.
Schmahl sees his brand doing well in high-traffic areas like airports. He anticipates growth coming nationwide because of dedicated fans who’ve asked about new stores.
“I’m like, ‘Listen. We’re going to figure it out together.’ Because I want somebody who wants to do Schmackary’s because they believe in Schmackary’s,” Schmahl said. “I think the dessert market is only growing. … As much as we’d love to say we live in a diet culture, people eat dessert.”