Note to parents: Harris Teeter resuming free cookies for kids at the supermarket
That’s the way the cookie comes back — Harris Teeter announced Wednesday it’s restoring the supermarket chain’s free sugar cookies for kids following a three-year hiatus prompted by COVID.
Those cookies are available once again at bakery counters in every Harris Teeter grocery store, according to the Matthews-based supermarket chain.
Parents and children can look for the store’s mascot Harry the Happy Dragon and display in the bakery or deli area. Harris Teeter released a video Wednesday on its social media sites to announce the cookie tradition’s return.
Parents quickly weighed in on social media about the move.
“My kids STILL ask every time we go. I’m glad I can finally say yes!,” Christy Steel said on Harris Teeter’s Facebook. “I just turned 40, but I remember asking my mom if I could have a cookie every time we went to HT when I was a kid.”
“Kids and I are on the way,” Hannah Louise said on Facebook.
But the news wasn’t as sweet for some. “Of course now that (they’re) back my kids are too old and I can’t act like I’m grabbing one for them,” Mike Golder said on Facebook.
The new signage says: “Kids get a free cookie” while the former said: “Hey Kids” noting “kids of all ages” with a limit of one per person. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.
More info about Harris Teeter and free cookies
Here are a few morsels about Harris Teeter, its cookies and Harry:
▪ In April 1992, Harris Teeter’s Harry the Happy Dragon mascot was created to create a welcoming atmosphere for children in stores to enhance parents’ shopping experience. Over the years, Harry has been the face of Harris Teeter’s kids’ program, adorning sugar cookie kiosks and balloons. There have even been Harry the Happy Dragon coin rides in store lobbies.
▪ Harris Teeter offered two types of free cookies — regular and low-fat before the pandemic. The new display does not show signage for low-fat cookies.
▪ Last March, Harris Teeter revealed a new logo on its social media sites, showing a video of a cookie with the old logo being broken in half. That revealed another cookie with the new logo underneath. The store’s logo hadn’t been changed since the 1990s.
▪ Harris Teeter, a subsidiary of The Kroger Co. based in Ohio, was founded in 1960. There are more than 250 stores and 60 fuel centers in seven states and the District of Columbia, according to the company’s website.
This story was originally published January 10, 2024 at 11:36 AM with the headline "Note to parents: Harris Teeter resuming free cookies for kids at the supermarket."