BUSINESS FEATURE Michael’s Cookie Jar West University shop shares love through cookies M ichael Savino, the name- sake of Michael’s Cookie Jar, brings his training as a professional pastry chef to an untradi- tional product: cookies. Savino graduated from the Culinary BY RENEE FARMER
cutout cookies, logo cookies and seasonal cookies. It also provides special orders, cookie bu ets and party trays. Specialty cookies include French palmiers, Peruvian alfajores, Mexican wedding cookies and Italian g cookies at Christmas, which Salvino said demonstrates the abilities of the shop’s pastry-school educated team. “We make various ethnic cookies as traditional as we can as a little nod to let the world know we’re all really pastry chefs,” he said. “We all went to school for this, and we know how to do anything we want, but we chose to work with cookies.” Savino’s choice to not rotate avors is intentional. He likes how cookies represent stability, comfort and homeyness, so he wants customers to be able to come in and know their favorite cookie is waiting for them. “We’re here to be very predictable, which I think is good in an uncertain world,” Savino said. Savino said he concentrates the shop’s charitable e orts on helping children, includ- Meals Houston and support for Hous- ton’s transgender youth. The shop also serves as a book drop-o location for Books Between Kids, an organization that provides books to at-risk children. “I love what I do; I love being part of the community; and we plan on being here forever,” Savino said. “West U has been great to us.” ing parent-teacher organizations, Kids’
Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, in 1994. Originally from Rochester, New York, Savino was drawn to Dallas in 1995 by a job with the Four Seasons Hotel. After working for the Four Seasons for 13 years, Savino decided it was time to do his own thing. Savino took his talents to cookies for practical reasons, he said. With a distaste for decorating, cakes were o the table. Cookies worked well with Houston’s climate, since they do not need refrigeration and do not spoil. They are also easier to handle than some of their other pastry coun-
Michael Savino, a professional pastry chef, owns Michael’s Cookie Jar. (Photos by Renee Farmer/Community Impact)
FIND THE PERFECT FLAVOR
• M&M • To ee pecan • Chocolate chip pecan
• Lemon chew • Peanut butter • Snickerdoodle • Chocolate chunk • Vanilla sugar • Oatmeal raisin • Ginger molasses • Double chocolate chunk • White chocolate macadamia
The shop’s professional pastry chefs create specialty cookies to demonstrate their abilities.
terparts. Plus, everyone likes them, he said. “I’ve never
“I LOVE WHAT I DO; I LOVE BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY; AND WE PLAN ON BEING HERE FOREVER.” MICHAEL SAVINO, OWNER OF MICHAEL’S COOKIE JAR
4 cookies:
Michael’s Cookie Jar 5330 Weslayan St., Houston 713-771-8603, ext. 0 www.michaelscookiejar.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sun.
$10 $14 $27
heard someone say, ‘I don’t like cookies,’” Savino said. The main prod- uct at Michael’s Cookie Jar is
6 cookies:
12 cookies:
59
the oven-fresh cookie, a soft-baked homestyle cookie sold in 12 avors. These made-from-scratch cookies use real butter, freshly cracked eggs and natural avors. Chocolate chip cookies sell the most, followed by M&M, snick- erdoodle and to ee pecan cookies. The West University shop, which opened in 2006, sells decorated
24 cookies:
$53
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