Insomnia Cookies, part of the new frozen dessert store Tasti D-Lite, should open in the Terrapin Station shopping center this week after being delayed for more than a month by inspections, manager Mark Moore said.
The store, which will sell cookies and cold treats, was ready to open six weeks ago but got caught up in the “bureaucracy” of inspections, he said. Insomnia Cookies is planned to open Wednesday in the same space as Tasti D-Lite, which opened during spring break.
Tasti D-Lite will operate during the day and Insomnia Cookies at night, sharing a small space in the middle of the new shopping center at Route 1 and Hartwick Road. While both will specialize in sweets, Insomnia Cookies provides late-night delivery from 8:30 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Seth Berkowitz, the founder of Insomnia Cookies, said he didn’t know the site had to be inspected by both Prince George’s County and the city of College Park. He thought the city inspections the store had passed were adequate.
“I can’t express how frustrating this situation is,” he said. “That glitch sent me back to the beginning.”
The site passed its county health inspection March 9 after failing it the day before. About 90 percent of all opening stores fail their first health inspection, Moore said.
The county only needs to make sure the store follows all fire codes and electronic wiring is safe, he said. The process takes between three and four days from request to completion, said county inspector Steve Durney Berkowitz said he expects his College Park store to thrive because its menu is unique to the city’s business landscape.
“We’re right in the middle of about eight sandwich shops,” Berkowitz said. “We’ve got our niche.”
Insomnia Cookies has seen success in college towns at its four other locations. Another Insomnia Cookies and Tasti D-Lite opened six weeks ago in Syracuse, N.Y., and according to manager Shawn Brooks, business from Syracuse University students continues to increase and the store is doing well.
In College Park, the university’s size and the availability of space in Terrapin Station drew Insomnia to the area, Berkowitz said.
City Planning Director Terry Schum said she thinks the cookie and ice cream shop will do well because of the variety it brings to the city.
“We’re always looking for different types of food,” she said.