Independent cookie shop with deep ties to Yale coming to Broadway-area shops

A family-owned, gourmet cookie bakery has launched at The Shops at Yale in New Haven’s downtown Broadway area.

City and university officials gathered at 39 Broadway, next to Urban Outfitters, on Thursday at the launch of Cookie39, an independent, family-owned bakery run by founder David Powell and his son, Mark Powell, who will be serving as the company’s chief operating officer.

The Powell family members said their roots are deep in New Haven and the school, as Mark Powell’s late grandfather is Carmen Cozza, the legendary Yale University head football coach from 1964 to 1996. 

Cookie39 and the Powells are leasing the space, which sits in the heart of the Broadway District. Customers can watch as their cookies are baked fresh to order. The business model calls for small batches of cookies baked and available for purchase before another batch is started. 

The regular daily menu will feature six classic recipes, including chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, cookies and cream, triple chocolate, sugar cookie with buttercream frosting, and peanut butter cup, along with seasonal flavors and a monthly special flavor in rotation.

The Shops at Yale occupies space in the Chapel Street Historic and Broadway Districts in downtown New Haven and includes a mix of retailers and restaurants, such as Apple, lululemon, Warby Parker, J.Crew, Derek Simpson Goldsmith, Villa Lulu, More Amour Boutique, Shake Shack, Raggs for Men & Women, and idiom Boutique.