A sweets shop at New Jersey’s American Dream mall just got even sweeter. The first-ever Oreo cafe opened last week on the top floor of the candy department store IT’SUGAR, a candy and gift shop that measures 22,000 square feet across three levels. The store features a menu of Oreo-inspired desserts, including do-it-your-self customizable treats, and limited-edition cookie merchandise.
Located in the Meadowlands complex in East Rutherford, American Dream is a 3 million square foot commercial and entertainment center that opened in 2019 after nearly two decades of delays.
In addition to dozens of retailers and food vendors, the mall includes DreamWorks Water Park, the largest indoor water park in North America, a Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park, an indoor ski and snow resort, LEGOLAND, an aquarium, mini-golf, and more.
The immersive Oreo cafe includes a treats bar where visitors can customize sweets or pick from the menu of Oreo desserts, like a Waffle Sundae with baked-in Oreo pieces and Oreo cookies & cream cheesecake with Oreo cookie mousse.
Visitors can build their own treats by choosing a dessert base, which can be a waffle, ice cream sandwich, cone, or milkshake, and then pick from more than a dozen toppings. According to the shop, there are over 200 possible combinations. Lovers of the famous cookie can even purchase Oreo products and merchandise, like tote bags, apparel, and home decor.
The Oreo cookie actually has roots in the area. Just across the Hudson River, the cookie was invented at the former Nabisco factory, the present-day site of Chelsea Market. Nabisco wanted to create a cookie to compete with Hydrox, a creme-filled sandwich cookie. The company’s lead food scientist Sam Porcello created the recipe for the filling and the Oreo Biscuit was first sold to a grocer in Hoboken in 1912. Today, over 60 billion Oreo cookies are sold each year around the world.