Our Story

A German immigrant builds something to last

John J. Renz moves his family halfway around the world to the American heartland, planting roots in St. Louis. A decade later, his son Henry J. Renz is born. By 1912, the family has saved enough to build a mixed-use storefront on Louisiana Avenue — bakery on the ground floor, home on the second.

That building is still our home today.

A Scotsman's recipe changes everything

A Scottish immigrant arrives in Los Angeles with his family's distinctive oatmeal cookie recipe and opens a small bakery. Around 1919, the bakery transfers to two brothers-in-law. During the handoff, their father-in-law — a lawyer named Alva Alonzo Sturges — begins sampling the goods. He quickly becomes enamored with one item above all else: the crisp, unusual flavor of the oatmeal cookie. He tells his sons plainly — shelve everything else and focus on this one recipe.

"You boys have a cookie here that anyone who likes cookies at all dreams about but seldom gets."

— A.A. Sturges, the dad of Dad's Cookie Company

The new brand takes root by 1921. Its Scottish heritage shines in every detail — a tartan pattern, a traditional Glengarry hat with tassels. The original cookie is called the Wee Bonnie Wafer, and it is a sensation.

The third thread appears

A young man named James T. Larmore attends the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis and leaves with a new business partnership. Three families — Larmore, Bowman, and Carpenter — launch an ice cream company on Goodfellow Avenue. By 1915, after partner disputes, it emerges as Carpenter's Ice Cream under J. Willard Carpenter.

Then the US draft for World War I comes calling. Carpenter ships off. He returns, leads a successful operation, and in 1927 meets a traveling salesman selling franchise rights to Dad's Cookie Company. He sees the perfect complement to his ice cream. Dad's Cookie Company takes root in St. Louis.

Three stories become one

A few short miles down Louisiana Avenue, Henry Renz — son of the original German immigrant — catches wind of these remarkable cookies. In 1938, he acquires the St. Louis franchise rights from Carpenter. The Scotch Oatmeal Cookie begins baking in the Renz family storefront.

The ovens haven't stopped since.

Known from coast to coast

Oakland grocery owner Earnie Wheeler falls so hard for the cookies that he closes his shop and takes on distribution rights. He establishes a franchise, then expands relentlessly — New Jersey, Dallas, Vancouver. Everywhere he goes, they take off. It's the Roaring 20s, and the company's slogan rings true: Known from Coast to Coast.

All in, Dad's Cookie Company expands to 27 cities across the US and Canada: Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Hartford, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Memphis, Montreal, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Seattle, St. Louis, St. Paul, St. Petersburg, Toronto, Vancouver, and more.

St. Louis's cookie — and "The Cookie Lady"

Henry Renz Sr. establishes the St. Louis franchise in 1938. His son Hank Jr. attends St. Louis University, serves in WWII, and — following in his father's footsteps — ships off to Korea in 1950. Upon returning, he takes over the bakery. In 1963, Henry Sr. passes away on the premises, and Hank and his wife Ruth Agnes fully assume the operation.

Ruth Agnes serves 30 years at a regional St. Louis bank in various leadership roles and sits on charity boards throughout the city. She bakes alongside Hank for 25 years. She survives him by nearly three decades, passing in the summer of 2020 at 93. Throughout the city, she is known simply as "The Cookie Lady."

By 1988, all other franchises have closed. Baltimore was the last to go. St. Louis alone remains.

Keeping the tradition alive — and going national again

Nearing the end of his life, Hank sells to his nephews Ken, Jim, and Dan Hastey. The brothers do more than maintain — they expand. In the 1990s, they launch nationwide shipping, including to US military bases around the globe. Within St. Louis, distribution grows to more than 250 locations: Schnucks, Dierbergs, Straubs.

The next 100 years

In 2023, the Hasteys sell to a trio of St. Louis brothers who grew up eating these cookies at their grandmother's house off historic Route 66 in Crestwood, Missouri. They operate out of the same iconic storefront bakery on Louisiana Avenue where John J. Renz first built his family's home in 1912.

The cookies are still weighed on an old-time scale. Still placed into a brown paper bag. Still tied up with a white string.

Just like always.