PEARLAND, Texas – Business owners have been getting creative in ways to keep their business thriving during the pandemic. Thao Tran, a Pearland resident who owned a nail salon, decided to close up shop and start from scratch. She soon cooked up a new venture, Stacked Cookies, and is now enjoying the sweet smell of success.
“When we first started, it was just ‘Let’s just figure out COVID,’" said Tran. "I’m at home, the salon is closed - let’s just put it out in the neighborhood group. Let’s just bake and see what people want to order.”
The company started on a positive note with the help of a good friend and a good cause.
“My friend Patsy opened Sticky’s. She asked me to do cookies, then they shutdown during COVID. Then the end of March, Deshaun Watson, the quarterback, contacted her to do donation food boxes for nurses at Ben Taub Hospital. I baked cookies for her to add into that donation, and that’s how it all started.”
Tran has been baking for her family for years, though mostly just chocolate chip cookies. After shutting the doors at her nail salon due to the pandemic, she decided to continue putting her baking skills to use and kicked them into high gear.
“We got about 40 - 50 dozen orders within one weekend. My husband and I looked at each other and said, ‘We might have something here! Let’s move into Houston,'” said Tran. "We did pickups at Sticky’s, pickups in Pearland, and now we are shipping all over Texas as well.”
In the beginning, Tran was baking about 300 - 400 cookies a week. Now, she estimates they’re making around 1,000 - 1,200 cookies weekly. Tran is shocked by the company’s booming success.
“My husband said to me, ‘How did this happen? How did you come up with the recipes,’ and trust me there was a lot of fails," said Tran. "And now I want to say I have over 50 different flavors.”
From classics like Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin, to unique flavors like Cinnamon Crack and Lemon Cream Pie, there’s a cookie to satisfy every sweet tooth. The company even dubbed a flavor after Houston Life’s very own Courtney Zavala called The Courtney: a classic combo of creamy peanut butter and a burst of grape jelly.
“We offer eight flavors on Sunday and Monday, and if you don’t get in that week you’ll have to wait four, five or six weeks for it to come back around,” said Tran. "That’s how we keep people coming back for more.”
To connect with Thao Tran, visit the Stacked Cookies website.