Goodnight Fatty Satisfies Salem's Cookie Cravings

SALEM, MA – Jen Pullen and Erik Sayce needed to bake faster. Their late night cookie pop-up shops had become so popular that the lines went out the door, and they were surrounded by customers waiting for cookies to come out of the oven.

"A lot of eyeballs staring at you and your tiny little convection oven that you brought in your car," said Sayce.

So this month, the pair (who got engaged last April!) decided to get into a kitchen to increase production, expand Goodnight Fatty, and introduce a cookie delivery service.

Pullen and Sayce aren't experienced bakers. When customers come to their Goodnight Fatty weekend cookie pop-up shop, they usually ask what baking school they attended.

"We are not bakers," Pullen said. "We actually have never baked before."

Pullen has a background in nutrition and food science, and Sayce is in communications. The pair thought of Goodnight Fatty when walking home after a date, and coming up empty on finding a quick-fix dessert place in Salem.

"We kind of came up with this together, and bounced the idea back and forth, and got super excited about it," said Puller. At first, they didn't tell anyone about the business – not family, and not friends – even when they had their first popup at Derby Joe.

"We were too afraid to tell people that we were going to try to open a cookie shop and then not do it," said Sayce. He said their first pop-up was a lot of trying to figure out where to set up their little convection oven and other supplies.

When they finally went live with it online (with the help of a short commercial), it blew up. Sayce said he had never seen anything like it.

The pop-ups offer three different kinds of rotating cookies so the new bakers can experiment with flavors. Their thought was that three would provide something for everyone – chocolate lovers, savory snackers, and more – but they said customers also buy the three cookies together in a sampler. Goodnight Fatty has had pop ups at Notch, Derby Joe, and Gentile Brewing.

The name is a combination of the book "Goodnight Moon," and a British clothing company with "fat" in the name. Their cookies have become known as fatties.

Sayce and Pullen both work full-time jobs at Salem Academy Charter School, and didn't have a lot of extra startup money for Goodnight Fatty. They didn't want to jump into a retail location, and opted instead to see if there was a market for late-night cookies.

"We’re just kind of going from the ground floor and having the business pay for itself," Sayce said. If anything, he said starting the business in such an unconventional way has taught them that anyone can do it, if they have the determination.

Pullen and Sayce had another motivating factor in starting the business: To help fund their November wedding. The pair met about 10 years ago through a mutual friend, but didn't start dating until they had known each other for about five years.

For Pullen, 28, and Sayce, 29, starting a business was intimidating. They've asked the Salem Board of Health a lot of questions in the past few months to make sure they're adhering to all necessary health standards.

"Nobody knows how to just wake up and do something like this, and neither did we," said Pullen. "I think it's why people don't do it," Sayce added.

But the pair has agreed to keep running Goodnight Fatty as long as it's still fun. So far, they love it.

"Our hope is that people stay tuned and keep getting excited with us," said Sayce.

Stay tuned by following the Goodnight Fatty Facebook page, and keep an eye out for their most popular cookie: The vegan Oreo pudding cookie.

Photo of Erik Sayce and Jennifer Pullen by Jenny Banville Cummings
Photo of Almond Coconut Macaroon by Ruby Wallace-Ewing
Photo of Oreo Pudding Fatty by Goodnight Fatty
Photo of Blueberry Lemon Creme, Peanut Butter S’more, Cowgirl Fatty by Goodnight Fatty