{"id":24501,"date":"2025-10-28T13:15:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T13:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/24501\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T13:15:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T13:15:11","slug":"jds-chippery-in-dallas-snider-plaza-is-a-family-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/24501\/","title":{"rendered":"JD’s Chippery in Dallas Snider Plaza Is a Family Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

On many mornings, there\u2019s a line waiting outside JD\u2019s Chippery in Snider Plaza<\/a> before they even open. Some are there for the always warm and gooey semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie \u2014\u00a0the shop\u2019s bestseller \u2014\u00a0or perhaps the muffins, including the glorious pumpkin chocolate chip or savory ham and cheese. Sometimes it\u2019s for four 32-ounce Diet Cokes, the standard order for one customer, and a topic we\u2019ll get to in just a bit. But for many, this small cookie shop that evokes a Keebler Elf treehouse vibe is a ritual.<\/p>\n

The shop was originally opened in 1983 by John and Julie Broad. The latter developed all the recipes and, for decades, walked to work from their nearby house at 3 a.m. every morning. She knew every person who walked into the store. But while the shop is steeped in history, its future belongs to their daughter, Amy Broad.<\/p>\n

From Auction House to Cookie House<\/p>\n

Amy Broad was raised at JD\u2019s Chippery. She took naps under the counters. But after college, she didn\u2019t have her sights set on taking on the family business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to Christie\u2019s [Auction House] in New York,\u201d she says about a dream sparked by reading romance novels in her teens that were often set in auction houses. She was determined to make that fiction her life\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI called the lady [at Christie\u2019s] so many times until she finally said, \u2018Come in, I\u2019ll give you a job, stop calling me,’\u201d Amy says. \u201cSo I just went to work there, even though she said there\u2019s nothing open. One day, she just said, \u2018I\u2019ll make a job for you. Just stop calling.’\u201d<\/p>\n

That led her to auction houses in Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong. She also started a vintage Louis Vuitton truck company and a media company. She even launched a baby food business in Hong Kong. Needless to say, she was always an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

After her dad suffered a stroke, Amy moved back home to help her parents, who were ready to retire.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey really didn\u2019t want to sell it; that was just my soft push,\u201d she says. \u201cI spent a year really getting to know the business. I\u2019d already worked here; it\u2019s not like I didn\u2019t know it, but I spent a year basically familiarizing myself with the ins and outs of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Her dad knew the business was in good hands, and her parents got to officially retire and spend time together.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved that,\u201d she says of her dad. \u201cThey got to spend a lot of really good time together three years before he passed away, so it\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n

25-Pound Box of Chocolate<\/p>\n

Even after a life surrounded by batches of cookie dough, Amy still likes sweets. Except for a stretch when she swore off chocolate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t eat chocolate until I was about 18 years old, though,\u201d she says, referring to the time they were looking for a new chocolate supplier. \u201cI remember testing 25-pound boxes of chocolate for two months, and I think I just never wanted to eat chocolate again after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

But now, she\u2019s proud of the legacy they have created and makes cookies she\u2019s proud to sell and consume. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the six ingredients \u2014 if you wrote them down \u2014\u00a0you\u2019d recognize them and have them all in your pantry. So, if you\u2019re going to eat a cookie, eat this cookie,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

More than a dozen types of cookies are baked fresh throughout the day. They also offer seasonal specialties (iced pumpkin cookies) and personalized cookie cakes, plus more than a dozen varieties of muffins. <\/p>\n

But maintaining a certain quality comes at a price, especially when baking 1.5 million cookies a year. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of chocolate has gone up 30 to 40%. So, we\u2019ve tried to keep our prices as reasonable as possible,\u201d she says, adding that over three years she\u2019s had to raise prices 50 to 60 cents, which is directly related to the cost of chocolate and labor.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur labor costs are through the roof,\u201d she adds. \u201cPeople want to make at least $16 an hour now, and we never used to take tips either, but I had to change that. It was something I didn\u2019t really want to do, but every other business in town allows their employees tips, and I wouldn\u2019t be able to attract the caliber of employees that I wanted if I didn\u2019t allow tips.\u201d<\/p>\n

Viral Diet Coke and Expansion<\/p>\n

JD\u2019s not only has a committed cookie following, but its Diet Coke does, too. Broad uses a unique formula, much like McDonald\u2019s. Recently, an SMU student ordered one with fresh-squeezed lime added, which went viral.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think 500,000 people might\u2019ve watched her video and then all of a sudden people started walking in and they\u2019d look a little bit lost. I was like, \u2018Are you here for a Diet Coke?\u2019 They\u2019d say, \u2018How did you know?’\u201d<\/p>\n

If you could pass a blind-taste test pinpointing different vehicles of Diet Coke (can, bottle, McDonald\u2019s, etc.), this is worth tracking down. The mixture is the same as McDonald\u2019s, with the bonus of pellet ice. Add fresh lime if that\u2019s your thing. If you\u2019re truly a fan, get one of each and allow yourself time to reflect and casually sip both over an evening, like it\u2019s a fine wine.<\/p>\n

JD\u2019s has recently expanded the empire to a new store at Preston and Royal (northeast corner at 6025 Royal Lane), where you can sit down, as opposed to the grab-and-go format at Snider Plaza. This store offers all of the same items as the Snider Plaza location, but also has ice cream. Which means, you can get an ice cream sandwich with fresh-baked cookies for that Goldilocks belt of where hot meets cold. And an amazing Diet Coke. Oooph \u2026 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On many mornings, there\u2019s a line waiting outside JD\u2019s Chippery in Snider Plaza before they even open. Some…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,9250,5205],"class_list":{"0":"post-24501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-news","11":"tag-dessert","12":"tag-hidden-gems"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}