'My Cookie Dealer' Pop-Up Shop Opens At Tanger In Riverhead

RIVERHEAD, NY — A popular cookie business has opened its first brick-and-mortar location in Riverhead.

"My Cookie Dealer," a business created by Karen and Juan Morel, is a labor of love for the pair, both say.

The cookies are huge, 8 ounces, and available in more than 1,400 flavors so far, Karen said. The flavors include "Crumb Cake Crinkle," "Peanut Melt In Your Mouth," "V for Vienna," "Chocolate Oh-O," "Milk and Cookies," "Chocolate Churro Toaster Pastry," and many, many more.

The Riverhead shop, located at 501 Tanger Mall Drive at Tanger Outlets, is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for now.

In addition to the store, customers can still order online by checking the My Cookie Dealer Facebook page, where Karen and Juan announce when they are "moving weight," announcing flavor previews, as well as when "drops" go live. Customers can order cookies, either 5, 10, or 20 at a time, on the website, and "pushers" make deliveries across Long Island; orders are also shipped outside of local delivery zones.

According to the My Cookie Dealer website, "Juan is a professional bodybuilder who is known for being able to put away crazy amounts of food on his cheat day. Karen has always baked for those she loves, little treats to show she cares. But a love this big, for a guy this big, required a big cookie!"

Karen started baking cookies for Juan and soon, the word was out: People wanted to know how they "could get their hands on these bomb cookies," the site said. "So Karen made more. The requests from friends and family were more than their kitchen could handle. Karen started baking in their best friend’s bakery in the middle of the night and selling out of the back of her blacked-out SUV by day — making clandestine deals in the parking lots of bodybuilding shows."

What began as a joke, with Karen "cooking up a supply. . . and Juan slinging 'the goods' from his bag at shows — became a way of life," they said. "Hushed parking lot trades gave way to internet deals for those who were in the know. It wasn’t long before they outgrew the part-time gig and the space. They moved into their own bakery in 2019 and run the cartel full-time."

Both say nothing matters more than friends, family, "and friends that become family. My Cookie Dealer is truly a family company and a labor of love."

Karen said the new location was perfect: "Long Island has shown us so much love and support we know the high foot-traffic location would be perfect to meet our #cookiejunkies face to face or, should I say, mask to mask," she said.