If you were hoping to grab one of Chip City’s famous gooey cookies this weekend, we have some seriously unfortunate news: the Queens-founded cookie chain has abruptly closed all of its stores across the U.S.
Chip City confirmed Friday, October 2, that it made the “very difficult decision” to close all of its remaining locations, bringing an unexpected end to the nearly decade-old bakery chain. The announcement comes after customers and employees began reporting sudden closures at Chip City locations across New York City and elsewhere on Thursday.
The company attributed the shutdown to what it called “significant macro-economic headwinds.”
Chip City has closed all of its remaining stores
According to Restaurant Business, 22 Chip City locations remained before the final shutdown, and employees were informed Thursday that those stores would close at the end of the day.
The abrupt closure was particularly surprising because Chip City had been in expansion mode for years. The company was founded in Astoria, Queens, in 2017, and grew from a neighborhood cookie shop into a multi-state chain known for its oversized, rotating selection of “ooey-gooey” cookies.
In June, Chip City said it had 39 locations across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Texas.
But the chain had already begun rapidly shrinking its footprint in the weeks leading up to Friday’s announcement. Its three Connecticut locations closed, followed by three stores in Northern Virginia, including its Tysons Corner location.
Now, all remaining Chip City locations have closed, including its NYC stores.
That means the bakery’s original Astoria location, as well as locations across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and other parts of New York, are no longer operating.
Why did Chip City close?
In an email reportedly sent to employees, Chip City said that the company had faced a “challenging environment,” with consumers spending less and changing their preferences, which had negatively affected sales.
The message said the company had made extensive efforts to address those challenges but “no longer” had the funding required to operate the business, according to Restaurant Business.
The company’s public statement similarly cited significant macroeconomic headwinds but did not provide additional details about its finances.
Chip City grew rapidly after a $17.5 million investment
The closure marks a particularly abrupt reversal for a cookie company that had been aggressively expanding just a few years ago.
In 2022, Chip City received a $10 million investment from Enlightened Hospitality Investments, the investment arm associated with restaurateur Danny Meyer. EHI followed that with another $7.5 million investment in 2024, bringing its total investment in Chip City to $17.5 million.
At the time of the 2024 investment, Chip City had 38 locations and planned to use the funding to continue expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint across the country.
As recently as July 2026, Chip City was promoting its continued growth. The company announced that Nicolas “Nico” Gabriel Baizan de Aldecoa had been promoted to president, with the company saying it had grown to 39 locations across six states.
Just over two months later, the entire retail operation is gone.
What happened to Chip City employees?
The sudden shutdown has also left Chip City employees scrambling.
According to reports of the companywide message sent Thursday, employees were told that October 1 would be their final day and that they would be paid through October 18 under applicable Fair Workweek policies.
It was not immediately clear Friday what additional support, if any, former employees would receive.
Meanwhile, customers across New York City began posting photos and videos of dark Chip City storefronts as the news spread.
For now, one thing is clear: Chip City’s decade-long run as a New York-born cookie chain has come to an abrupt end.