Launched by childhood friends Teddy Gailas and Peter Phillips out of the Queens borough of New York in 2017, Chip City Cookies was one of the early breakaway stars of the “cookie wars” that swept the country as a food craze 10 years ago.
The chain made a name for itself through its large, gooey cookies with original rotating flavors dropped on social media prior to being available in stores. It expanded quickly to a peak of nearly 50 locations across states including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia, Florida, and Illinois.
But amid the shifting wave of food trends and an economy in which many are watching their spending on artisanal versions of common treats more carefully, the cookie craze appears at a major ebb.
Chip City Cookies abruptly closes all remaining stores
Crumbl, which is another breakaway star and major name in this space, slashed the number of its physical stores by 16% from 2024 to 2025. The 20-year-old New York State cookie bakery The Cookie Factory closed its last remaining brick-and-mortar stores to focus on selling exclusively at supermarkets in August 2026.
While observant fans noticed that Chip City Cookies had closed some stores in states like Connecticut earlier in September, chain president Nicolas Baizan just took to social media to say that it is permanently shuttering its last 22 remaining locations at the end of business hours on Oct. 2.
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“Despite extensive efforts to stabilize our business in the face of significant macro-economic headwinds, we have made the very difficult decision to close all of our Chip City locations,” Chip City Cookies said in its statement. “We are grateful to our dedicated employees and loyal customers who have supported us for the past 10 years.”
Chip City opened during the “cookie wars” phase in 2017 by Teddy Gailas and Peter Phillips.Chip City
‘Consumers are spending less and their preferences are evolving:’ Chip City Cookies on abrupt closures
Bazin went on to name “a challenging environment” and “consumers [who…] are spending less” as the main factor that “negatively impacted our sales.”
The abrupt collapse of what was once a breakout star in the food world backed by New York restaurateur and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer sent shockwaves through the industry as well as fans (part of the chain’s success came from its cult following of diehard fans).
Locals near the location on Columbus Avenue in Manhattan’s Upper West Side also reported seeing police officers from the NYPD Evidence Collection Team going inside the shop on the morning of Oct. 2.
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While Chip City previously told customers in stores that were announced as closing earlier in the month that any pre-purchased gift cards could be used at other locations throughout October, the abrupt shutdown makes it highly unlikely that these will have any use.
The collapse also comes just several days after founder Peter Phillips sued the company. According to the lawsuit, Phillips was to remain with the company until December after Meyer’s Enlightened Hospitality Investments took a majority stake in the brand in March 2026.
Phillips’ suit goes on to claim that the new majority owners pressured him to surrender web domains and sign third-party borrower authorization documents on five small-business loans in order for this agreement to be honored.
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