Downtown Powell's newest business aims to turn gourmet cookies into a community mainstay.

Mrs. Turbo's Cookies departs from the traditional bakery concept and makes cookies and milk a bigger experience. A "cookie bar" wraps around the counter, offering places to sit and eat the shop's signature snacks.

The second Mrs. Turbo's opened in late 2018 with a "very soft opening" at 178 W. Olentangy St.

Holly Schaffner, who owns Mrs. Turbo's, said her first location in Gahanna grew a following because of the high quality of the cookies as well as the store's atmosphere.

"I bake like your mom did back in the day," she said, highlighting the shop's use of real flour, eggs, vanilla and other ingredients.

Cookie flavors range from "naked" sugar cookies and chocolate chip to red velvet, snickerdoodle, salted caramel and butterscotch oatmeal.

The shop also offers brownies in several flavors.

Schaffner said the key to her business plan is to bake fresh cookies each morning rather than storing them for a day or more.

"You're always having the freshest cookie possible," she said.

From there, she wanted to find a way for people to eat her cookies in the store rather than always taking them to go, like they do in other shops.

That's how she came up with her cookie bar, and the concept of "belly up to the bar and have cookies and milk."

Schaffner said everyone from children to parents to couples on dates enjoys sitting at the cookie bar with a glass of milk or coffee from Crimson Cup.

For her second location, Schaffner said Powell made lots of sense.

"We picked Powell because it's a great community," she said. "We've got lots of positive feedback from customers here, and there's really nothing else like us here."

She said she thinks Powell residents and consumers value locally owned and operated businesses, rather than chains, and said she's already seen that support from the community.

"We're not a franchise," she said, "so I hope people will support a local, female-owned business."

The shop is taking a "controlled and measured" approach to its second store -- largely because of an overwhelming response on day one in Gahanna -- and will roll out some changes throughout the year.

One highlight of those changes will be a walk-up window on the building's east side that will debut in warmer weather so people strolling through town can grab a cookie and some milk and keep going down Olentangy Street.

Schaffner said she is planning a grand-opening event, hopefully in February.

For more information, visit MrsTurbosCookies.com.

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