Cookie Store in Plainfield goes for out-of-this-world flavor

Steve Buresh’s Cookie Store opened Oct. 26 in Plainfield and closed three hours early, having sold out of all 2,000 cookies, he said.

However, Steve Buresh’s Cheesecake Store & Sandwich Shop, also in Plainfield, remained open until 7 p.m.

Buresh said he sells between 500 and 1,000 cookies a day at his cookie store, so the 2,000 on opening day should have covered it.

“You hear about these big corporation chain places, where the line goes out the door and down the street,” he said. “I didn’t really think it would happen to me.”

My grandfather always said, ‘If you want to be proud of something, put your name on it so people know it was made by you.’”

—  Steve Buresh, owner of Steve Buresh’s Cookie Store and Steve Buresh's Cheesecake Store and Sandwich Shop, both in Plainfield

Steve Buresh’s Cookie Store also offers gift cards and online ordering.

Yet, when he first added cookies near the register of his cheesecake store, he wasn’t thinking about opening a separate cookie store.

Buresh just wanted a kid-friendly dessert – and he really needed more kitchen space.

The idea of a cookie store happened after a pizzeria near the cheesecake store moved out, Buresh said. He thought that the former pizzeria could “make a nice little cookie store in front of this huge kitchen,” with the kitchen becoming a central baking area for both businesses, he said.

Yes, it’s double the rent and the utilities, but Buresh also didn’t want to move the cheesecake store.

“The spot that I’m in right now has a drive-thru,” he said. “That drive-thru has been so valuable to use, even during the pandemic. I don’t want to leave the spot. We’re so busy over here all the time.”

Buresh attributes some of that popularity to the residents living near the cheesecake store.

“They are the best people around,” he said. “They support me. And the kids have all worked here. They started coming to the cheesecake store on their bikes. Now, they’re driving. That sure makes me feel old. I didn’t want to leave and go into another spot, where they can’t easily get to me anymore.”

[ Cheesecake Store in Plainfield expanding into cookie business ]

‘Out of this world flavor’

Buresh chose a space theme for his cookie store simply because he likes anything outer space.

“OK, so I’m a huge fan of the ‘Back to the Future’ movies, and that kind of out-of-this-world space stuff has always been with me,” Buresh said. “I even had glow-in-the-dark planets in my bedroom. So when it was time to design the logo, I’m sitting with a cookie, and I had my Saturn car out there and its round rings around it, and I thought, ‘Why not just make this a space-themed cookie spot?’”

And his cookies have “out-of-this-world flavor,” according to the cookie store’s website.

Buresh said he built the space theme around the color purple to “pay homage” to his wife, Kelli Buresh, a kindergarten teacher at Wood View Elementary School in Bolingbrook, since her favorite color is purple.

“We met in high school, started dating 1998 and got married in 2001,” Buresh said. “She is my support. She listens to my complaining all the time.”

A legacy of good food

Buresh’s grandfather owned the former Frank Buresh Lobster House & Cocktail Lounge in Brookfield, which Buresh also memorializes with three menu items at the cheesecake store.

At the lobster house, Buresh vacuumed and performed “odd jobs” while working with family members. Buresh’s father bartended, and Buresh’s uncle ran the restaurant after Frank Buresh died, he said.

“I really liked being with the people,” Buresh said. “It’s that whole family feeling you get from being in the food service.”

His love for helping local schools with their fundraisers and events came from his grandfather, who was involved with the Brookfield community.

“Food is the way to everybody’s heart, I think,” Buresh said.

It was Frank Buresh who inspired Buresh to “put my name on the door” of both the cheesecake and the cookie stores.

“My grandfather always said, ‘If you want to be proud of something, put your name on it so people know it was made by you,’” Buresh said.

Although Buresh has a staff of 15 people, he’s very hands-on in his stores. He’s usually baking by 3:30 a.m., and customers “are really surprised when they meet me at 6:30 in the morning,” he said.

And they see him “speed walking” between both stores during the day, he said, which could get tricky once the snow falls.

“They keep telling me they’re going to buy me some skis, some cross-country skis,” Buresh said.

Speaking of snow, Buresh said he’s planning some amazing cookies for December.

“I can’t mention details, but they’re definitely going to be space-themed,” he said. “But space-themed if you were thinking about Christmas and outer space.”

Cookie crumbs

Buresh also shared tidbits about his cookies.

Varieties: Eight (so far). Or, as Buresh said Nov. 8 on the Steve Buresh’s Plainfield Facebook page, “This is just the beginning, my fellow Cookienauts!”

Bestselling cookie: Chocolate Space Chip

Most unusual: Krispies Cookie crater, which is half chocolate chip, half rice Krispie treat

Cookie that needs some love: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Comet. The adults love it, the kids not so much.

The “minis:” Mini chocolate cherry cake, mini cheesecakes, mini pumpkin pies

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Steve Buresh’s Cookie Store

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Closed Sundays.

WHERE: 14220 Route 30, Plainfield

INFORMATION: Call 815-556-8830 or visit cookiestoreonline.com.