(WSVN) - The holiday season is here, and with that comes Christmas cookies. One South Florida entrepreneur is baking up big business. 7’s Kevin Ozebek shows us how he is turning his “Sweet Dreams” into a reality.
They are covered in sprinkles. Coated in cereal.
Andrew Gonzalez, owner, Night Owl Cookies: “How much fun is that?”
Stuffed with guava. Saturated with chocolate chips.
Kevin Ozebek: “Can we talk about how much chocolate is on that cooke?”
And racking up thousands of “likes” on Instagram.
Kevin Ozebek: “How many calories are in this, Andrew?”
Andrew Gonzalez: “You shouldn’t be asking.”
At just 29 years old, Andrew Gonzalez is the brains — and the master baker — behind Night Owl Cookies.
Andrew Gonzalez: “I’d rather not have lunch and dinner and just go straight for the cookies.”
While many businesses are struggling, Andrew’s is thriving.
He just expanded his South Florida chain by opening a cookie shop in North Miami. Later this month, he’s opening stores in Wynwood and Pembroke Pines.
Since the pandemic, his sales have surged on the Postmates delivery app.
Andrew Gonzalez: “People love desserts, and ‘stressed’ spelled backward is ‘desserts.'”
Andrew can bake upwards of 10,000 cookies a day from his commercial kitchen in Miami.
Kevin Ozebek: “What goes through your head as you just look at what you’ve created? This is yours.”
Andrew Gonzalez: “It’s difficult to comprehend, honestly. I still sometimes don’t believe it.”
To many, Night Owl Cookies may seem like an overnight success, but Andrew started the company 9 years ago while he was a student at Miami Dade College.
Andrew Gonzalez: “The only time I had to bake cookies was nighttime, so Night Owl Cookies came to be.”
His first big break was being featured on Deco Drive in 2013. Back then …
Andrew Gonzalez: “It was a one-man show.”
He took the orders and did the deliveries himself.
Andrew Gonzalez: “I was a lost college student. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and I feel like a lot of people today feel the same waym especially with the pandemic, but when you don’t give up and you have this dream and you reach for it, you can make it happen.”
Now, he has around 60 employees.
Andrew Gonzalez: “You’re going to make me cry, and I don’t want to cry. Come on, man. Yeah, I never thought — I am literally emotional.”
After just one bite, you’ll taste what makes these cookies special.
Andrew Gonzalez: “It all goes back to the dough. The dough is our prized possession.”
The recipe is so secret, employees here don’t even know it. For the dry ingredients, they just mix what’s labeled “Bag #1” with what’s labeled “Bag #2.”
Andrew Gonzalez: “Our recipe is located in one spot. I handwrote it myself, sealed it. It’s actually in a safety deposit box.”
Though his team does know how to make the cookies perfect for instagram … and he taught me, too.
Kevin Ozebek: “So you kind of roll it like this, and then you put it right into the chocolate?”
Andrew Gonzalez: “You got it!”
Kevin Ozebek: “Look at this chocolate chip cookie! It’s like half chocolate, half dough!”
After waiting patiently while the cookies baked for 12 minutes…
Kevin Ozebek: “Look at that!”
Finally, it’s time to taste.
Kevin Ozebek: “This is phenomenal. Talk about the best day on the job ever, in 15 years of being a reporter.”
It may be messy…
Andrew Gonzalez: “If it doesn’t make a mess on your hands when you’re eating it, it’s not a chocolate chip cookie.”
But dreams sure are sweet when they look like this.
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