Warm, gooey cookies on late-night demand. What could be better? Perhaps cookies and pretzels? That’s the question regarding the cookie battle royale currently afoot. Rowan’s native Cookie Munchers, a daytime to late-night cookie-delivery company, has found an unexpected rival in the new Insomnia Cookies on Rowan Boulevard, about a block and a half away on the opposite side.

Founded in 2016 by Rowan alumni Cassie Aran and Brandon Lucante by using the ovens at Ry’s Bagels, Cookie Munchers has practically been a Rowan celebrity since its inception. The problem is, there isn’t only one cookie house in town now. So, which is the favorite?

“It’s been pretty busy, now that we have pretzels. We get a lot of pretzel traffic over here. A lot of people like our cookies; now that they’re smaller, they taste better,” said 20-year-old Cookie Munchers supervisor Avory Hirshorn. 

Hirshorn defended his store, confirming that they still have ample customers.

“You get more of a variety for the same price. We get a lot more kids coming in at night,” said Hirshorn.

Another factor adding to Cookie Munchers’s pizzazz is the fact that the owners also run a Philly Pretzel Company store and decided to combine their resources. In addition to seven types of cookies and their pretzels, the offerings include six varieties of ice cream, seven types of toppings, four varieties of edible cookie dough, a chocolate chip cookie cake, ice cream cookie sandwiches, icings and a selection of milk, chocolate milk, and water.

The problem is, so does Insomnia Cookies. In fact, their selection includes 16 types of cookies, six deluxe cookies, three kinds of brownies/blondies, eight types of ice cream, six different toppings, seven drinks, and one variety of icing.

The real question remains: which do students prefer?

Out of 30 interviews, more people had tried Cookie Munchers, but most preferred Insomnia Cookies.

“I personally love Insomnia Cookies. I’m dairy-free, and it’s really nice that they have vegan options…[Cookie Munchers] was pretty good, they also have vegan options, but I definitely prefer Insomnia Cookies,” said 18-year-old freshman psychology major Syd Regan. 

That notion echoed throughout the day, as the majority felt Insomnia was better overall. 22-year-old senior Saalim Barnes, a biological sciences major, believes that sentiment to be true for him.

“Cookie Munchers has been a staple to Rowan for years, but honestly, Insomnia Cookies has got it better, I’m not gonna lie,” said Barnes.

20-year-old sophomore biology major Robert Ochoa didn’t have negative things to say about Cookie Munchers, but the love for it just isn’t there.

“[Insomnia was] actually pretty good…I’ve always been a fan of it,” said Ochoa. “[Cookie Munchers is] not bad…I prefer Insomnia, though.” 

23-year-old freshman and journalism major Alyssa Stowe enjoys both cookies, but she only likes Cookie Munchers on a limited basis.

“I personally like Insomnia better. I feel like they’re softer. For [Cookie Munchers], there are certain flavors…that I like. I like the creativity for them, but I just like the texture of [Insomnia’s cookies] better. [Cookie Munchers’s cookies] are always crunchier, and I like a softer cookie,” said Stowe.

Insomnia customer, 20-year-old sophomore psychology major Mike Ralph works part-time at a deli and is a self-ascribed full-time swagger.

“I’ve had [Cookie Munchers’s] cookies a couple of times, and they’re alright. I heard a lot of people…saying that ‘Oh, it’s the bomb’ especially late at night…but…I like softer cookies, I like it warm and soft, and they were a little crunchy,” said However, he added, “They…do the ice cream with [their crunchy]  cookies as well. You can’t go wrong with that,” said Ralph.

Cookie Munchers’ situation is not all doom and gloom, however. The Glassboro fixture still has diehard fans. 19-year-old freshman Jordan Broiles is an elementary education major and had nothing but good things to say about Cookie Munchers.

”I thought it was good,” said Broiles.

Paige Macari, an 18-year-old freshman marketing major, is a Cookie Munchers girl all the way.

“I like [Cookie Munchers]. I liked the ice cream cookie. It’s the best,” said Macari.

Gianna Di Giovanni is a 22-year-old junior double majoring in political science and international studies, and she is more on the fence about the subject.

“I like different things about both of them. Insomnia is so nostalgic, I used to go there all the time as a kid, but Cookie Munchers is very convenient. I absolutely love going there,” said Di Giovanni.

Cookie Munchers cookies’ smaller size hasn’t fazed Angela Oliveto, an 18-year-old freshman electrical and computer engineering major.

“It was good. I think they upped it a little bit where the cookies got smaller, but overall I still liked it,” said Oliveto.

However, that one change cost them some points, as they recently altered their cookie-making model. According to student accounts, they went from large, flat cookies to much smaller, somewhat rounder ones for mostly the same price. Some students even said they noticed that the prices had increased.

“I think it’s definitely overpriced. I know that they’ve increased the prices throughout the year. That’s why I definitely liked Insomnia Cookie better,” said Michael McGlennon, a 21-year-old junior majoring in computer science.

Other areas where Cookie Munchers could improve are the texture, over-sweetness and lack of chewiness, or at least that’s the word on the street.

“[Cookie Munchers cookies] are okay…sometimes they’re stale, and they’re kind of hard,” said Bridget Fellona, a 20-year-old sophomore majoring in psychology. 

Indeed.com reports that Cookie Munchers’s employees rated their employment as a 2.9 average. Common complaints are that the management doesn’t have enough training and the higher-ups have “little or no regard for in-store employees,” as one review states.

Cookie Munchers employees have only a 27 percent salary satisfaction rate, compared to the 42 percent of Insomnia workers who are unsatisfied with their salaries. While information on this particular store isn’t available quite yet, Insomnia Cookies stores nationwide pay their Cookie Crew members 15 percent less than the national average—just a little food for thought.

Whatever you choose, just know that some opinions in this pool could be considered tainted. Many people had Insomnia Cookies near their homes when they were growing up, so they had previous exposure to the chain. You’ll have to decide for yourself. One thing is clear, though: this cookie war is far from over.

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