Walking down University Avenue in the dark of the early evening, it is hard to mistake the ever-present scent of fresh-baked cookies, a scent that has diffused throughout the Village and made Insomnia Cookies one of Ball State’s favorite spots.
Since settling into the Village in January, Insomnia Cookies has made its mark on Ball State — enough of a mark to be voted Best Dessert Option by students for Best of Ball State.
“It’s my favorite thing to eat,” sophomore public relations major Abby Venable said. “When it’s cold outside it’s nice to come in and get a warm cookie. It feels like home.”
Venable, who had never heard of Insomnia Cookies before it opened in the Village, wasted no time becoming a regular, now frequenting Insomnia at least twice a week to get her favorite cookie — the S’mores Deluxe.
“I’ve had friends in Bloomington [talk about Baked! cookies], and when I heard we got an Insomnia, I kind of rushed over there,” she said.
Marketing manager for Serve U Brands Renee Sarnecky, who deals with the Insomnia in the Village, said she is surprised at just how well the cookie joint was received.
“I think the overall response we’ve received from opening week and continuing till today has been tremendous with great response; tons of deliveries and tons of business,” she said. “We knew it would do well but it is exceeding all of our expectations.”
Sarnecky said the late-night delivery aspect of Insomnia draws customers in, along with the homey atmosphere that attracts customers like Venable.
Fundraisers have also contributed to the shop’s success, she said.
“We’re happy to be in the area,” Sarnecky said. “We’ve been working a lot with on-campus organizations and we’ve seen a lot of response with that. The late-night aspect and the fact we work with the organizations on campus makes us stand apart from other brands in the area.”
Insomnia Cookies has 30 locations across the country, and Ball State has joined in along with campuses such as Butler and Purdue universities. The dessert location offers nine flavors of regular cookies along with ice cream, brownies and jumbo deluxe cookies.
Insomnia customer and junior information systems major Ron Johnston enjoyed ice cream after already eating cookies on a Thursday evening as he talked about what he likes best about Insomnia.
“You can smell it like half a block down,” he said.
Johnston, whose favorite cookie is peanut butter, said Insomnia Cookies has become one of his favorite late-night spots in the Village.
“I’ll come down here after touring the Village and get some cookies,” he said. “If they got rid of this place, I think the Village would die a little bit.”
