WEST LEBANON — Over the past two years, a swath of new businesses have set up shop in West Lebanon, filling vacant storefronts that peppered the busy 1-mile strip of Route 12A as the pandemic faded. Among them are retail franchises such as J.Crew Factory and Planet Fitness, the global gym chain that opened its doors in November.

Now two other national franchises are slated to open next to Jersey Mike’s in the Staples Plaza: the bakery chain, Crumbl Cookies, and Tropical Smoothie.

“We’re hoping for the spring,” said James Maguire, co-founder of Maguire Enterprise, the company that manages Crumbl Cookies’ locations across New England, when asked about a prospective opening date.

 Tropical Smoothie is scheduled to sit between Crumbl Cookies and T-Mobile later this year.

“We’re finalizing the lease with Tropical Smoothie as we speak,” said Bedford, NH.-based businessman and CEO of Century Restaurants, Inc., Chris Brown, who’s hoping for a summer opening.

Both Crumbl Cookies and Tropical Smoothie will fill parts of a space formerly occupied b y Pier 1 before the company’s bankruptcy in 2020. The total 9,300-square-foot space was subsequently leased by Brown, who divided it into four individual storefronts. Jersey Mike’s opened its doors in 2023.

Maguire had the idea to open a Crumbl Cookies next to Jersey Mike’s while scouting for another storefront on the way to the Williston and Burlington locations. The Williston store shares a wall with a Jersey Mike’s, and Maguire realized that the two businesses — cookies and sandwiches — made the perfect pair.

“Anytime we can find a good business … like a Starbucks we can be near, or a Jersey Mike’s, we try to do that,” Maguire said.

Crumbl Cookies will face the Starbucks across Route 12A.

Brown shared Maguire’s vision for situating the Crumbl Cookies and Jersey Mike’s side by side and reached out to Maguire “because of the synergy the two would create,” Brown said in a phone interview.

Since partnering with Crumbl Cookies in 2020, Maguire Enterprise has developed eight locations across New England, including the one planned in West Lebanon.

But like many of the new retail spots along 12A, Crumbl Cookies is not native to New England. The franchise was founded by cousins, Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley, in 2017 in Logan, Utah, and has since expanded to over 1,000 locations across the United States and Canada.

The chain features a small menu that changes weekly, as advertised in bright, slow-motion videos to its 9.6 million TikTok followers. This week’s assortment features salted caramel cheesecakes, marshmallow sandwiches with Oreos, skillet cookies, and snickerdoodles.

Until recently, Crumble Cookies’ offerings included only cookies, but last year the chain added cakes and pies to its repertoire, according to Maguire. 

What impact, if any, the chain’s presence will have on local bakeries such as Katie’s Cookies, located in downtown Lebanon, remains to be seen. The shop’s owner, Katie Boardman, wasn’t aware that Crumbl Cookies was coming to Lebanon, but she believes that if sales are impacted, they will soon bounce back.

“We do feel strongly that if there’s a place for a little local shop to thrive, it’s here in the Upper Valley,” Boardman said in a phone interview. 

Craig Morley, general manager of Lou’s Restaurant and Bakery in Hanover, isn’t worried, either. “I welcome all competition,” he said. 

Tropical Smoothie, meanwhile, is a fast-food chain originating in Florida that serves a selection of smoothies, sandwiches, salads and wraps, among other lunch options. The franchise operates over 1,500 locations across the U.S. The closest is in Tilton, N.H.

Crumbl Cookies and Tropical Smoothie are joining a collection of food options that have cropped up in West Lebanon over the past couple years, including Jersey Mike’s, American-style eatery Taste, and the Asian restaurant Happy Dumpling, which opened this winter in the Powerhouse Plaza.

Even more dining options may be arriving soon. Cold Stone Creamery and Planet Smoothie, joint enterprises under the Canadian franchise MGY Food Group Inc., have been slated to open in the Powerhouse Plaza since last summer, according to a Valley News story published last May, but an updated opening date has yet to be confirmed.

Marion Umpleby can be reached at mumpleby@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.