Popular dessert shop prepares to open new Raleigh store with 5,000 cookies on first day
.jpg "Captain Cookie & the Milk Man will soon open its second Raleigh location.")
A downtown Raleigh dessert shop is about to open its second brick-and-mortar in the city.
Captain Cookie & the Milk Man, which came to Transfer Co. Food Hall in 2019, will begin serving customers at its new North Hills location Oct. 5.
“I’m looking forward to meeting and getting to know all the North Hills people better,” co-founder Kirk Francis told The News & Observer.
Kirk and his wife, Juliann — Triangle residents and graduates of UNC-Chapel Hill — have grown the company from a single truck to a fleet and physical locations in North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. In addition to developing recipes, Kirk will be running the new Raleigh shop, so customers can find him there a few days each week.
North Hills has been on the owners’ radar for a few years, Kirk previously told The N&O, because it’s a magnet for shopping, dining and entertainment.
When will Raleigh’s new Captain Cookie open?
A ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. will kick off the grand opening at the store, located at 4421 Six Forks Road, next to Sur La Table.
Any customer who visits the store on day one can enter to win free cookies for a year. The person who wins (or a person of their choice) will receive a box from Captain Cookie every month containing cookies, exclusive merchandise and recipes — a $700 value.
On opening day, the bakery will also be giving away and selling branded merchandise such as T-shirts, hats and sunglasses.
Kirk said he expects to bake 5,000 cookies on opening day. Among the flavors will be the seasonal pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin muffaroons, which are similar to muffin tops, made with sweet potatoes and pumpkin.
“They’re delicious,” Juliann said.
Typically, Captain Cookie will sell its usual menu of freshly baked cookies, ice cream from Homeland Creamery (located in Julian, North Carolina), milkshakes, edible cookie dough and cookie cakes. Cookies come in several standard flavors, and the bakery features a special each week.
Inside the new North Hills Captain Cookie store
The dessert shop is moving into an old Cariloha, a retailer offering clothing, bedding and bath goods.
Delays often plague the construction process, pushing businesses’ projected openings back, but Kirk said working with the contractor, Gateway Building Co., and property owner Kane Realty, has been “smooth.”
They have installed all the necessary kitchen equipment, such as a commercial oven to bake cookies on site each day, milkshake mixers and an ice cream dipping cabinet.
But the design of the bakery is also important.
“We’ve added a lot of color to things,” Kirk said. “We’ve put up some cool tile.”
The hope is to turn the bakery into an immersive experience, as if customers have walked into a comic book. There will be indoor and outdoor seating, with colorful patio furniture and outdoor decorations.
“With each of our locations, we really try to channel the community around us, because part of our mission is giving back to the community,” Juliann said.
Other openings & closings at North Hills
Captain Cookie will be the newest tenant to open at the Lassiter District at North Hills.
Starbucks, which closed for a renovation a few months ago, has reopened with a new design.
Construction is still underway at Foxcroft Wine Co., the popular wine bar from Charlotte replacing Midtown Grille. The restaurant closed in 2022 after 17 years at North Hills.
Additional businesses and eateries are expected to open this year in the Main District, including salad shop Sweetgreen, Restoration Hardware, J.Crew and johnnie-O.
This story was originally published September 19, 2024 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Popular dessert shop prepares to open new Raleigh store with 5,000 cookies on first day."
