Isaac Aldridge couldn’t stay away from the kitchen. When he got a chance to go into business for himself, he picked a franchise that let him bake decadent cookies stuffed with sweets both inside and outside.
“I grew up in a bakery environment,” Aldridge said. “I was a corporate accountant in Utah, and I realized that is not what I wanted to do. That’s when I thought back on my family.”
Aldridge and business partner Cory Campbell are bringing a Dirty Dough cookie bakery to Springfield, with plans to open near the beginning of September.
Messy, marvelous cookies
Dirty Dough specializes in cookies loaded with toppings and filled with stuffings. While the outsides are decorated with drizzles, sprinkles and icing, the insides are injected with cremes, candies and fillings.
The company proudly proclaims its baked goods as picture imperfect; they are messy and gooey, but delicious. Despite the imprecise adornments, the pictures of its creations on its website look attractive for satisfying sweet tooths.
Its creations include a cookie version of a seven-layer bar, a cheesecake cookie with a raspberry jalapeno jam and a fudge protein cookie with a peanut butter nougat inside. It also offers a rotating menu of seasonal selections.
Aldridge said the company’s creations were one of two things that attracted his attention to the franchise. The other attractor was the attitude and philosophy of founder Bennett Maxwell. Aldridge said Maxwell talks strongly in podcasts and other interviews about how franchising can be too expensive for people trying to start their own businesses.
“He is passionate about lowering the barrier of entry for entrepreneurs,” Aldridge said. “He wanted to put more tools in our hands. I could start a restaurant from scratch and learn everything the hard way, but here, there is support and training. I don’t have to come up with recipes or a business model. As long as I believe in Dirty Dough, I’m in good hands.”
The franchise got its start in November 2018, with deliveries being made from an apartment at Arizona State University, said founder Bennett Maxwell in an interview with Subkit. The cookies were popular enough for Maxwell to open a storefront in 2020 in Tempe, Arizona.
Over the last couple of years, the franchise has grown significantly. According to its website, it has 88 locations either built or under development in 23 states. According to a 2022 report from the Deseret News, it sold more than 230 franchise locations in a year.
According to its website, Dirty Dough asks for a $49,500 franchise fee and a 7% royalty fee, and prepares its owners for an average $161,000 in renovation costs.
Cookie fight in Springfield
The opening of Dirty Dough will make Springfield an official battlefield in a rivalry called the Utah Cookie War, according to a report from the Deseret News. Dirty Dough is viewed as a rising challenger to Crumbl Cookies, another Utah-based chain that has franchised and grown significantly.
Two Crumbl Cookies locations in Springfield were announced in February, with intended openings by June, according to a report from the Springfield Business Journal. Those stores have not opened yet, however — a spokesperson for Crumbl Cookies said the two locations are still on track for completion, and opening dates will be announced when they are set.
Earlier in 2022, Crumbl filed separate lawsuits against Dirty Dough and Crave Cookies. Its lawsuit against Dirty Dough alleged copyright infringement, with “similar marketing, cookie dressings and packaging.”
Dirty Dough responded to the lawsuit with a marketing campaign mocking the suit. After Crumbl’s CEO alleged Dirty Dough committed corporate theft on his LinkedIn page, Dirty Dough officials doubled down their mockery with satirical videos using phrases from the lawsuit.
The lawsuit has yet to be resolved, according to the report.
Happy to build in Springfield
Aldridge is not signing up to be a soldier in a cookie war. He said he was excited to return to Missouri and build a business in a state that was good to him as a kid.
As Aldridge grew up in central Missouri, his parents owned and operated a bakery, and his father also sold restaurant supplies. Aldridge moved to Utah when he was 19 to attend Western Governors University and take part in a two-year mission to Argentina.
After earning a bachelor’s degree and landing a job as a corporate accountant in Utah, he realized that wasn’t what he wanted to do.
Aldridge said Campbell placed a big bet on him. Aldridge and his wife, Emily moved to Springfield in February with their cookie plan in mind.
“(Campbell) was looking for a business to invest in, and I was looking to invest in something I can believe in,” Aldridge said. “If you look at Dirty Dough’s mission statement, they talk about how real life is dirty. Plans don’t go the way you expect, but you can still make something great.”
They found a location at 401 S. Kimbrough Ave., with proximity to Missouri State University, Drury University, the Springfield Expo Center and downtown. The strip mall also houses Insomnia Cookies.
Aldridge said he plans to hire about 15 people. If this location does well, he hopes to open more across the area.
“Springfield is growing and all its suburbs are growing,” Aldridge said. “I feel like I can contribute here … This is a great place to call home, and it feels cool to build something that makes other people feel more like home.”
