The world's first Cookie Bar opened in Queenstown this morning (Monday May 17) with people queuing at the door to sample freshly hot baked cookies and cold milk served from a bar tap.
Twelve keen Queenstown high school students and former students camped overnight from 3pm the previous afternoon to be among the first ten through the door to receive a year's free supply of cookies.
Describing the overnight camp out in cold temperatures as "a stellar effort", Cookie Time general manager Lincoln Booth ushered them all into the warm store, filled with the tempting aroma of cookies, at 8am this morning.
First through the door were eighteen-year-olds Alana Potts and Josh Baldey, dressed in head-to-toe all-in-one pyjamas, who said they had kept warm with plenty of blankets.
"It's pretty fantastic to win a year's worth of cookies and it was all worth it," said Alana."I've got some pretty hungry flatmates so I don't think it will be a problem getting through them all."
Queenstown five-year-old Olivia Davis-Richard officially opened the store by cutting a cookie-festooned ribbon, helped by the Cookie Muncher.
The innovative new Cookie Time store and Cookie Bar is a showcase outlet designed as a world-class retail experience the company plans to franchise throughout the world.
Customers can lean on the Cookie Bar and enjoy hot, freshly baked cookies, hot chocolates and ice cold milk, all while listening to New Zealand music and reveling in views of Queenstown's Village Green and surrounding mountains.
It's an interactive brand experience featuring Apple touch screens that highlight the company's 27-year history since Kiwi brothers Guy and Michael Mayell developed New Zealand's first giant chocolate cookies.
Cookie Time began 27 years ago, delivering fresh cookies to dairies in Christchurch, and the company's grown to become New Zealand's favourite cookie brand.
