Waldo’s Classic Cookie wants to expand

The Classic Cookie, a Waldo mainstay for nearly three decades, will either expand at its current spot or move, a cafe official said this week.

Don Peattie took over operation of the cafe, at 409 W. Gregory Blvd., in March. But after operating it for nearly five months, Peattie said he discovered building repairs that needed to be made and that the cafe needed to beef up business.

“We’ve got to grow or we’ve got to go,” said Peattie, who formerly owned McLain’s Bakery in Waldo.

The Classic Cookie has two years left on its lease but Peattie is meeting with his landlord to try to work out a new deal. He would like to expand into a space that formerly housed Studio 7 Pilates + Barre. Studio 7 operated in the space for about three years before recently relocating to 7500 State Line Road in Prairie Village.

Peattie also would like to refresh the lunch menu and offer even more sandwiches and salads, as well as increase to-go orders. He is purchasing the business from Leslie Stockard, who has owned it since 1998.

The Classic Cookie first opened on the Country Club Plaza in early 1982 and three years later added a downtown shop in City Center Square, according to Kansas City Star archives. The Mrs. Fields Cookies chain purchased the two locations in 1988 and converted them to Mrs. Fields operations.

The owners of The Classic Cookie held on to the rights to the Classic Cookie name and recipes, and had the right to open cafes a mile or more away from their former locations.

The Waldo cafe opened in mid-1988 and currently serves breakfast and lunch, including omelets, french toast, chutney chicken salad, ham and cheese sandwiches with raspberry honey mustard, and a variety of cookies including oatmeal raisin, chocolate peanut butter chips and Snickerdoodles.

This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Waldo’s Classic Cookie wants to expand."