Dirty Dough cookie franchise plans Carson City opening

Two Carson City natives have been looking to bring sweet treats to locals who prefer something not so cookie-cutter.

Marlon and Rosy Flores, 37 and 34, soon will open a Dirty Dough cookie franchise at 2158 E. William St. next to the Grocery Outlet, with a grand opening planned for the end of June.

The company offers cookies with double or triple layers or fillings and mix-ins on a weekly rotating basis of flavors. Founder Bennett Maxwell, who previously worked in solar system sales, used his former experience selling cookie dough to create the Dirty Dough franchise in Arizona. Creating various recipes and incorporating ingredients and fillings that rotate on a monthly basis, Maxwell began selling franchises in December 2021.

“We currently have just over 60 units open and 15 mobile/food trucks and operation with over 450 total franchises sold,” Maxwell confirmed with the Appeal Monday. “Carson City is one of roughly 40 locations that is currently under construction.”

Marlon and Rosy Flores were looking for a different business opportunity and Dirty Dough’s model appealed to them. They also felt Carson City was the right location.

“I don’t think it’ll be a mistake putting in Carson,” Rosy Flores said. “Everybody says you need to put it in Reno, but that’s what we need, for Carson to grow in a positive way.”

She said most in the community are tired of making the drive to Reno or elsewhere for something unique to enjoy, and the concept is well suited to her own interests and family needs.

“My passion is baking and (Marlon’s) looking into different baking opportunities for me to have,” she said. “We got tired of that difficult 9-to-5 schedule and wanted to venture in something else. We came across Dirty Dough, and we loved their business model.”

Once in operation, Carson’s Dirty Dough will employ about 15 employees and staff about two or three per day seven days per week.

“It’s more useful for first-time jobseekers just working in the environment part-time,” she said.

Marlon and Rosy Flores recently attended a training in Columbus, Ohio to learn about the business model and process and interacted with customers in real time, she said.

“It was a good experience on what we were looking forward,” she said. “I’m hoping it will be well received.”

She described bringing home two boxes of cookies with them through the airport and the appeal of their scent to others around them.

“Everybody was looking at the boxes,” she said. “We were excited. We brought some for our families to taste. Everybody fell in love with them the way we did when we first found out about them.”

Rosy said she previously worked as a data analyst for the federal government. Marlon Flores, a loan officer, is opening his own mortgage company with CrossCountry Mortgage, so now the couple will be running two businesses and raising their three children, she said.

Flores, a recent graduate of Western Nevada College, also said she wanted to acknowledge her instructors in the community for their insights in project management.

“I want to give a shout-out to the people who inspired me,” she said. “One of my classes was to do a business plan on modeling a business. I think that was really important for me to know.”

Once open, online ordering will be available through third-party vendors such as DoorDash and Grubhub, and Flores said during the grand opening, the store will offer a free cookie to guests.