gourmet Bite-sized
Bud’s Best Cookies brings sweet success to Shelby County Story by CHRISTINE BOATWRIGHT Photographs by JON GOERING
T
he sweet aroma of freshly baked cookies reaches past the Hoover factory walls of the Bud’s Best Cookies factory and welcomes guests to explore what is essentially 89,000 square feet of cream- and chocolatefilled bliss. Bud’s Best Cookies’ namesake, Albert “Bud” Cason Sr., was first entranced by the cookie business when, as a 12-year-old, he began working for his aunt and uncle at Greg’s Cookies in Birmingham. Bud, who recently turned 76, reminisced about a time when cookies were sold for “a penny apiece or two for a penny” from grocery stores. By 1970, Bud knew he wanted to try something different than what Greg’s Cookies had planned, but
decided to purchase the company from his relatives at his aunt’s request. He then purchased Bishop Baking Company in Cleveland, Tenn., in 1983, and sold the two companies in 1986. Bud signed a five-year non-compete agreement, and so his cookie-making business took a hiatus. In the meantime, the cookie man decided to take a nutrition class. “I was in the business, but didn’t know much about baking the dough,” he said. That class changed the whole focus of his business plan. “The teacher said when someone wants something sweet, the first bite doesn’t take care of it, but the second bite does. The rest is just filling their bellies,” Bud said. And so the idea of the bite-sized cookie was born. “My friends said I was wasting my time and
PAGE 32: After mentioning his son’s tall frame, Bud joked he’s been feeding Al oatmeal cookies for years, which is why he’s more than 6-feet tall. ABOVE: Metal chains align the cookies so they are ready for packaging.
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