Insomnia Cookies is pursuing different avenues to continue business in the city, but is still continuing to operate in a delivery capacity.
According to Seth Berkowitz, owner of Insomnia Cookies, he is looking in to finding a smaller vehicle in order to continue late-night vending. Another option for the business, he said, is to pursue a permanent store in the city.
“I will do what is necessary to stay on the Wisconsin campus,” Berkowitz said, adding he feels sorry for the students — as his business is reliant on the college crowd — now that there is no late night Insomnia Cookie vending.
He said the ordinance restricting the size of vending carts has hurt his business, after he invested about $100,000 into it.
According to Berkowitz, sales were down 50 percent when the vending truck was no longer allowed to operate on Library Mall, saying walk-up sales were the business’ “bread and butter.”
Berkowitz said he was “basically shut down” by the city and would not have invested so much in to the vending truck if he had known the ordinance would confine the size of the truck. Purchasing another vehicle could be risky, he added, as the city could change the size restriction.
He added the business has built up its sales to a sustainable point, but it is not to the level of its peak when it was allowed to late-night vend on Library Mall, since it was forced to move to a parking lot next to Towers on State Street.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, a member of the Vending Oversight Committee, said that while other vending operations have been officially sanctioned by the city, the only action Insomnia Cookies needs to take is to operate with the right size equipment at the right location.
Verveer also encouraged the business to seek a permanent location as they have in other locations, including the University of Illinois.
Verveer also said, given the constant change of vending in the area, there are always vending carts in the market for purchase.
“I hope [Insomnia Cookies] does not go out of business in Madison; I understand they have a good customer base and a high quality product,” Verveer said.
