Soon, when the clock strikes 12, Midnight Cookies will be no more.
The cookie shop, located at 3345 SW 34th St. Suite 1, is closing after 15 years of business. Known for its late-night delivery service, the store has set its tentative closing date of Sept. 21 due to declining sales.
Jon MacAllister, the 41-year-old co-owner of Midnight Cookies, said the store’s struggles have taken a toll on him and his wife, Jen MacAllister.
“We feel it’s time to step away and seek other endeavors that aren’t going to be as stressful around our bodies and our minds,” Jon said.
The closing date might change if business significantly increases, the owners said. But without permission from their landlord, an extension wouldn’t be possible.
With the rise in popularity of Uber Eats and DoorDash during the Covid-19 pandemic, the local shop struggled to compete. New Insomnia Cookies and Crumbl locations opening in town have also affected their sales.
Twenty years ago, Jon worked at the California Chicken Grill, a late-night food delivery service in Gainesville.
When Jen started testing cookie recipes, he decided the same concept could apply. Jon’s former boss offered him a kitchen space to rent. That’s where the late-night cookie delivery service, Midnight Cookies, was born.
UF alumni Avery LeFils, 30, and Bernard LeFils, 36, said it's been their tradition for the last 15 years to get Midnight Cookies on Friday nights before Saturdays in The Swamp.
As a longtime customer, Avery expressed her sadness to see Midnight Cookies fall by the wayside.
“Midnight Cookies was always something we could look forward to,” she said.
UF graduate and former Alligator food blogger Caitlyn Burnitis, 30, said the cookie shop was a fond memory from her college experience. She recalled ordering cookies with friends on her dorm floor.
“Midnight Cookies was the first of its kind in Gainesville,” Burnitis said.
The couple’s only employee, 56-year-old Aaron Esrig, met Jon working at the California Chicken Grill. After eight years of doing yard work, Esrig said he started working for Midnight Cookies consistently. He was drawn to the position because of the MacAllisters' kindness after his mother passed away.
“They may both be younger than me, but they’re kind of like my mom and dad,” Esrig said.
He said he will stay and work until the last day, whenever it is.
On closing day, the MacAllisters have plans to bring leftover cookies to friends and local businesses. For the last couple of hours, they plan to sell discounted cookies.
The owners have discussed the possibility of doing pop-ups or farmers markets to keep their passion for baking alive.
After they close, the owners plan to release the recipes to some of their most popular cookies, including the Bananas Foster, on social media.
The MacAllisters said they’re taking time for themselves, focusing on their Skee-ball league and visiting family next.
Contact Summer Johnston at sjohnston@alligator.org. Follow her on X @summerajohnston.
