Insomnia Cookies Bakes Its Way Into Cary's MacGregor Village

A national late-night cookie chain known for delivering warm desserts to doors until 3 a.m. is setting up shop in Cary for the first time. Insomnia Cookies will open its first Cary location inside MacGregor Village, taking over a roughly 1,150-square-foot storefront in Suite 141 at 107 Edinburgh South Drive.

According to The News & Observer, the chain will host a grand opening for the new shop and plans to hire part-time cookie crew members, delivery drivers and shift leaders for the location. The report notes Insomnia Cookies already has 17 North Carolina locations, including shops in Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham, with six spots across the Triangle overall. Company-wide, the chain now counts 367 stores.

The new shop lands inside a shopping center that has seen fresh investment in recent years. MacGregor Village, a 122,000-square-foot outdoor retail center at the intersection of U.S. Highway 1 and U.S. Highway 64, sold to a commercial investment venture for $30.24 million in May 2024, according to Commercial Real Estate Direct. The center's tenant roster already includes fitness studios Orangetheory and Barre3, a Starbucks, and local Mediterranean sweet shop Asali Desserts & Cafe, per CBRE.

From College Campus to National Chain

Insomnia Cookies began in 2003 on the University of Pennsylvania campus and opened its first standalone location in Syracuse, New York, in 2006, per the same News & Observer report. The chain, headquartered in Philadelphia, opened its 200th store in 2021 and now generates $350 million in annual sales, according to Entrepreneur figures cited in that report. Its menu extends beyond the classic warm cookie to include cookie and brownie creations made into cakes, ice cream sandwiches and vegan varieties, all deliverable straight to customers' doors through online orders.

The bakery's ownership has changed hands recently, freeing it to pursue more aggressive growth. Private equity firms Verlinvest and Mistral Equity Partners completed a buyout of Krispy Kreme's remaining 34% stake in Insomnia Cookies for $75 million in June 2025, according to a release from PR Newswire, following an initial recapitalization the previous year. Under the expanded partnership with Verlinvest, the chain set a 10-year target to scale to 1,800 bakeries globally, positioning the Cary opening as one small piece of a much larger rollout.

An Affluent Suburb With College Ties Nearby

Cary's demographics make it a natural fit for the chain's model. The town had an estimated population of 180,010 residents in 2023 with a median household income of $134,905, well above state and national medians, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. That income level, paired with proximity to Triangle universities, aligns with Insomnia's late-night delivery strategy and its Insomnia Rewards back-to-school push, which gave away 30,000 free 6-packs of cookies to incoming college freshmen this month, per PR Newswire.

Insomnia isn't the only national dessert brand making a move into Cary this month. Houston-based Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café, which sells sweet and savory crêpes, is opening its first Triangle location at Fenton, marking its first North Carolina shop as well, the News & Observer reports. Hoodline previously covered that debut in its piece on Sweet Paris landing at Fenton.

Competing With Cary's Established Baking Scene

Insomnia's arrival also puts it in direct competition with a local bakery scene that already has deep roots. La Farm Bakery, a European-style shop founded in 1999 by master baker Lionel Vatinet, produces 15 styles of bread alongside artisan tarts and pastries, according to The Gator's Eye. Elsewhere in North Carolina, Boulted Bread was ranked the No. 1 place to get baked goods in the state by Tasting Table, per the News & Observer's report, underscoring the competitive bar Insomnia will face as it tries to win over Cary's dessert-loving residents.

The Cary opening also fits a broader pattern of national cookie chains chasing growth in fast-growing suburbs. Hoodline has tracked similar expansions, including Insomnia's grand opening in Addison, Texas, and a separate trend piece on Crumbl's planned debut at Cobblestone Village in St. Johns County. For now, Cary shoppers can expect Insomnia's warm cookies to join the mix at MacGregor Village once the doors officially open.