Tate's Bake Shop started in 2000 as a local bakery and grew to be a $500-million brand by 2018.
Even though the cookies are everywhere now, you can still visit the first bake shop in the Hamptons.
With merch, in-store exclusives, and so many cookies, any Tate's fan will find the journey worth it.
I consider myself a chocolate-chip cookie connoisseur, so when I realized I could visit the original Tate's Bake Shop that's advertised on every green package the brand sells, I knew I had to go.
The first Tate's Bake Shop was opened in 2000 by Kathleen King, who was forced to start over after losing access to her first cookie brand in the '90s. King grew up in the Hamptons, a cluster of high-end towns on the east end of Long Island, New York, and decided to keep her business close to home and opened her bake shop in her hometown, Southampton.
On a recent trip out east, I decided to check out the original bake shop. I was pleasantly surprised that the cookies were cheaper than they are in grocery stores — and that there are more Tate's offerings than I could eat in a month.
If you've walked into a grocery store recently, you've probably seen Tate's Bake Shop's chocolate-chip cookies in their trademark green packaging.
The company was sold in 2018 for $500 million and now is available nationwide. Its founder, Kathleen King, retired at the same time.
Source: Business Insider
But what you might not know is that the original Tate's Bake Shop is real, and you can visit it on Long Island, New York.
The bake shop, which is located in Southampton, is open year-round, seven days a week.
Source: Tate's Bake Shop
When I pulled up to visit, I immediately noticed how aesthetically pleasing the location was, with flowers everywhere and an area to sit and enjoy baked goods outside.
Inside, the first thing I saw was the coffee window.
I didn't know this, but Tate's has its own line of coffee beans. It's available to purchase on their website, too.
Source: Tate's Bake Shop
On Tate's website, there's a decent selection of baked goods you can purchase, but the store had many more options, like these coconut macaroons.
And ice-cream sandwiches made with Tate's cookies, of course.
There were also stacks of blondies and brownies.
There's only one pie available online, the chocolate chip. There are many more available in the shop, like this apple-crumb pie. The pies ranged from $20 to $25.
Source: Tate's Bake Shop
There were even more pastries available up front, like this entire display of cupcakes. You can check on Instagram to see what's available each day, but on this day, the selection included vanilla, golden-fudge, and carrot cupcakes.
Source: Instagram
Behind the counter, in addition to more drink options, were muffins, cakes, pastries, and bread, all baked in-house.
There was Tate's merch, including T-shirts and cookie-scented candles.
A display in the corner offered other local goods, such as syrups and jams.
But the star of the show, of course, were the cookies. There were so many flavors, I was overwhelmed — but I had to pick up the seasonal pumpkin-spice cookies. They had white-chocolate chips and would've paired well with a hot latte.
The shop also offered gluten-free versions of its classic chocolate-chip cookies.
I bought the pumpkin cookies and the chocolate-chip cookies, which were $5.25 each — almost $3 cheaper than they were at the local 7/11, where the same package retailed at $7.99.
Any cookie fan should make the trip to Tate's Bake Shop at least once to check out all the additional goodies the company has created since its founding in 2000.
Source: Business Insider
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