New cookie store has Lethbridge roots
By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on March 1, 2024.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com A brother and sister duo along with their spouses are now offering Lethbridge and area residents the opportunity to enjoy freshly baked cookies that have made a name for themselves across the Unites States and Puerto Rico.Operating owner of Crumbl Cookies, Dan Reina said he, his wife Victoria, his sister and brother in-law Chad and Diana Folsom have brought Crumbl Cookies to Lethbridge and are excited to officially open their doors today.
“Crumbl started in Utah, it was two cousins who wanted to create the best milk chocolate chip cookie in the world. They have previously lived in Lethbridge but they started there, and it became so popular that people started asking them for more flavours,” said Reina.
 He said over time they grew their unique flavour menu and they have over 200 gourmet flavours to offer.
 “We have a weekly rotating menu of cookies, so each week we feature six out of those 200 gourmet flavours. We make everything from scratch in our bakery and we make it fresh every day,” said Reina.
Reina said he first heard about the cookies while having dinner at his sister’s house.
“I overheard them saying Crumbl Cookies, so I followed Crumbl Cookies on Instagram and I’m not the type to follow a brand at all, but I found myself checking the weekly flavours and so I knew there was something special about the brand,” said Reina.
 He said this led to them applying to become owners of a franchise. They sent their information and were chosen. They applied for the area, and first were successful opening a franchise store in Medicine Hat last fall, but they are now finally opening one in their hometown of Lethbridge.
 “It’s been amazingly well received, people just have such a great response, everyone loves cookies, and our mission is to bring friends and family together over the best box of cookies in the world,” said Reina.
 He said opening the franchise for him meant doing something he believes in and with this CPA accountant background he had a pretty good idea on how to run a business, so it made sense.
 “I needed to do something that I believed in and that I could stand behind and Crumbl felt good to me. My personality is upbeat, it’s fun and easy going and so the rotating menu being so unique I knew it was something that I wanted to try and bring to our community,” said Reina.
To learn the ways of the cookie, Reina said he had to visit Crumbl headquarters to get familiar with the product, and everything that comes along with opening a franchise.
 “I had an opportunity to go down to HQ to what they call Crumbl University and I went through the theory, I did hands-on practice. We had some help in opening our first store, learned a lot about baking,” said Reina.
 He said within their bakery they have a lot of resources that allows them to make sure they are hitting the quality they need to, as well as all the flavours to make sure everything is right.
In terms of location, Reina said being visible from Mayor Magrath Drive South gives them a unique vantage point.
 “That was very important to us, we wanted to choose the right location. We’ve learned that everyone wants to try Crumbl, and the best way to find out is just seeing it on the side of the street,” said Reina.
 He said being in the same area as high traffic grocery stores is of great advantage to them, as well as on a well-travelled road that leads to a lot of tourism.
 Reina said since the co-founders of Crumbl originally lived in Lethbridge, it feels like they are bringing the cookies home in a way to be shared with the community.
 “Lethbridge is our home, I am a University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College alumni, so I am really happy to share this with my community,” said Reina. 3
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