Manhattan family remembering dad’s legacy with edible cookie dough shop
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KSNT) — A local family is keeping their dad’s love for cookies alive by opening a cookie dough shop.
Kenny Fowler had a way of making the best cookies.
Kenny’s two kids, Daniel Fowler and Bri Fowler, never actually knew how he made his famous cookies. But when he did, they were unforgettable.
“I remember them distinctly as when I was a kid, and so does my sister,” Daniel Fowler said “He rarely ever made them. So when he would make them, everybody wanted them.”
“They were just the perfect amount of soft,” Bri Fowler said. “Like the melt in your mouth type of cookie.”
In 2012, the Fowler family’s lives were turned upside down when Kenny was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer.
“Honestly, that’s what sticks out the most,” Bri said tearfully. “Which is really… it’s crappy. It’s hard when you see somebody that’s always been invincible, in your eyes, get weak, and need help.”
Kenny died less than a year later in 2013 from cancer, at 56 years old.
Even though it’s been about six years since his passing, it’s still hard for his family to see days without him.
“I went everywhere with him,” Bri said.
To find comfort without their dad, they took one of their favorite memories of him and turned it into a store. Specifically, an edible cookie dough shop in Manhattan called Kenny’s Kookie Dough.
“This is kind of a good, healthy way to cope with it,” Bri said. “Because you get passionate about it. And you want people to know your story, and you want them to feel comfortable.”
Kenny’s Kookie Dough opened in October. It’s exactly what it sounds like. A cookie dough shop where you can eat raw cookie dough, without the side of salmonella.
“We felt like we really needed to do something in his honor, as he did so much for us and so much for other people,” Daniel said. “We just wanted his name to live on and this just seemed like it was the perfect opportunity.”
It’s been six years since Kenny’s family last saw him. Now, they will be able to keep his memory and love for cookies alive in Manhattan, sharing it with everyone who comes to their store.
“We started it in honor of him because we just can’t let his legacy go away,” Daniel said. “We refuse to let it go.”
“We don’t want it to just be about the cookie dough,” Bri said. “It’s more of like, we want you to feel like you’re a part of our family. We’re welcoming you and we want you to be a part of this whole thing.”
Daniel and Bri actually come up with the flavors of the cookie dough themselves. Just recently, they had peppermint bark and even an animal cookie flavor.
Kenny’s Kookie Dough is located in Aggieville in Manhattan, at 1125 Laramie St.
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