I just had one of the very best food-retail / business-jealousy experiences of my adult life. I just had a cookie created for me, custom, baked in just 2 minutes. Sweet Flour has opened in Toronto's Bloor West Village, and I'm now a fan. Big time.The place is immaculate, smells like home (cookies + love), and boasts all kinds of delicious treats, not the least of which is the custom cookie. As I understand it, the custom cookie is the key to this wonderful place. You pick your dough (plain, PB, or oatmeal), you pick some 'Mix-ins' like various chips, nuts, chunks, pieces of snickers, sprinkles, etc and then your cookie is mixed, squashed, turbo-baked, quick-cooled on what looks like a refrigerated marble slab, and served up melty and delicious.
The whole walk home, as I devoured my cookie and restrained myself from tasting Claire's cookie, I was thinking about this place
. I want to go back and it's only been 15 minutes.Built in what was the Sherwin Williams of many years ago, located at 2352 Bloor St. W, Sweet Flour is the dream of entrepreneur and former CPG marketer Kim Gans. (I got a mini-bio from an employee while I was waiting the 2 minutes for my cookie). Kim used to manage marketing for some big brands for General Mills. More about Kim here.
I often read Springwise, the trends and innovation web zine, and find cool ideas like this, or bike rental services, or customized cereal that gets mailed to you in a tube, or hotels make from old shipping containers--- It's not often that I get to accidentally wander into one.
If you live in Toronto, you should be making your way to Bloor West Village right now to create some cookie art. Invite me along, I want another @andrewkinnear.