Inside Zooies, LA’s gas station home to ‘next-level elite’ cookies

Some of LA’s most devoted cookie fans are pulling into a gas station to get their fix.

Inside is Zooies, a cookie shop with dozens of flavors and a loyal following built by founder Arezou Appel, who still develops every recipe herself.

“We are in a gas station,” Appel said.

The unusual location came naturally. Her husband Jeff Appel already owned the gas station, located in the West LA neighborhood of Cheviot Hills, giving the family a place to launch Zooies without the overhead of a traditional storefront.

Arezou said operating out of the family-owned gas station has allowed her to keep prices down while using the ingredients and techniques she wants. Cookies cost around $4 on average.

“Being able to be in a gas station and taking advantage of this side of the food mart and gas station has helped us to keep the prices low,” Appel said.

Zooies began when Appel’s children were in preschool. She taught herself to bake through books, magazines and cooking shows, initially making cookies for her family.

“I just wanted to make the best that I could for my husband, two kids,” Appel said.

As more people tried her cookies and began asking for recipes, the idea of turning her baking into a business took shape.

Nine years later, Zooies offers about 65 cookie choices, including vegan, gluten-free, paleo and refined-sugar-free options. Two of its biggest sellers are the Brown Butter Chocolate Chip and Gooie cookies.

Appel showed The California Post how the Brown Butter Chocolate Chip cookie is made, with ingredients weighed in grams and a combination of chocolate chips and chunks cut from larger blocks.

The result, she said, is “a nice crust” with an inside that remains “soft and gooey.”

Zooies remains a family operation. Appel’s daughter Sophia Appel worked at the store on and off when she was younger, helping with social media, front-of-house duties and inventory.

Her son Charlie Appel currently attends Loyola Marymount University while working across Zooies’ management side, including operations, HR, partnerships, catering, logistics and business development.

Customers have become part of the story, too.

Andrea Johnson has been getting the Walnut Gooie for seven or eight years, while Curtis Fralin said he visits the store around once a week.

Axel Baum called the cookies “next-level elite” and described Zooies as a longtime neighborhood staple.

For Appel, that loyalty goes beyond cookies.

“People coming through this door are really that family and friend that we haven’t met yet,” she said.

And the reaction she still hopes for after someone takes a bite?

“Wow,” Appel said. “We did it right again.”

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