MeMe’s Treats
For seven years, Dawn White had been a graphic designer for a marketing group in Armonk. Prior to that, she was with a big corporate outfit in Greenwich.
Then, with no regrets, she left the work that she knew and followed her heart.
White decided to start her own business, opening MeMe’s Treats in Mount Kisco about five months ago. With a deep passion for baking her whole life, White was inspired to pursue her dream of owning and operating a cookie shop.
“I have been baking since I was a kid, with my parents and grandparents, and I have always loved to bake,” she said. “Just over the past holidays I would give everybody presents of my cookies. I got a really big response and people would ask why I wasn’t doing this all the time. I just decided to take the plunge.”
White found a location at 159 Lexington Ave. and promptly set up shop. She makes only cookies.
“We specialize in just one thing, and I think if you specialize, all your talents and efforts go into one thing, making one thing really quality rather than have 50 things to offer and they are all so-so,” she said.
And try one of her cookies they are far from so-so. They’re absolutely delicious.
Many regular customers go to MeMe’s and request their favorite cookies; in fact, White has loyal supporters visit on a regular basis. In a short time, White has gotten to know many of her patrons–and she knows what each customer is going to order when they walk through the door.
“They get hooked on their favorites,” she said. “When they come in they say, ‘I don’t know what to have’ but, meanwhile, I know what they are going to order, even though they think it through.”
White revealed the cookie that is most requested by her customers.
“It seems like the old faithful that everyone resorts back to is some version of a chocolate chip cookie,” she said. “I have a few different kinds, but my signature is dark chocolate walnut chunk. It’s the one that spawned everything. I made it for everyone on holidays.”
Other flavors include BananaNana oatmeal walnut, dark chocolate espresso, peanut butter chunk, white chocolate almond chunk and raisinilla. White also sells 30- and 50-cookie platters.
Along with original cookies, MeMe’s offers party favor services. Using her graphic design skills, White has the ability to devise logos and come up with decorative favors, something other shops don’t offer.
“When you want to give people something to leave the party with–especially kids–instead of a goody bag, we can fill it with cookies,” White said.
“For a wedding, instead of whatever you normally get, we put cookies in elegantly designed packages. We do Bar Mitzvahs, Bat Mitzvahs, and because I am a graphic designer, I can design the whole logo and theme the whole party, and I don’t know of a lot of bakeries that can do that.”
In addition to cookies and party favors, White also talked about the origin of the name of her shop. She chose the unique name MeMe’s in recognition of the women in her life that inspired her to become a baker and business owner.
“I picked MeMe’s because it is an endearing term for women,” she said. “The women that I based the whole company after are my grandmother and my mother-in-law. I was very close to both of them, so those two are the hub of it. It just means someone you love.”
MeMe’s Treats will host a grand opening celebration on Saturday, Oct. 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be free cookies, beverages, face painting, coupons and a grand prize to be given away. The rain date is Oct. 23.
To learn more about Meme’s Treats, call 914-607-1187 or visit www.memestreats.com.
