By Gus Saltonstall
The Upper West Side Chip City cookie shop permanently closed on Friday morning, an employee who picked up the phone around 9 a.m. confirmed to West Side Rag.
Two hours later, the store was surrounded by officers of the NYPD Evidence Collection Team.
The closure of the cookie outpost at 370 Columbus Avenue, between West 77th and 78th streets, is part of the chain’s decision to close all stores nationwide, Chip City announced on its Instagram Friday.
“Despite extensive efforts to stabilize our business in the face of significant macro-economic headwinds, we have made the very difficult decision to close all of our City Chip locations,” the cookie business announced. “We are grateful to all of our dedicated employees and loyal customers who have supported us for the past 10 years.”
When the Rag visited the Upper West Side Chip City around 9:30 a.m. on Friday, there was nobody at the store. When we returned around 11:30 a.m., the police officers had arrived.
Specifically, there were multiple officers from the NYPD Evidence Collection Team. An officer was in the midst of photographing the front of the store, and inside the business.
A man with a bike was talking to the officers and filling out a document or form.
When the Rag approached one of the officers to ask for more information about what was happening, the man with the bike said, “Please, please don’t talk to the media.”
In customary fashion, the officers then told the Rag they couldn’t talk and to please reach out to the NYPD’s press department.
WSR reached out to the NYPD’s press team, which said that someone reported seeing two people on a security camera enter the Upper West Side Chip City around 2:30 a.m. on Friday and remove an “unknown amount of U.S. currency.”
There have been no arrests, and the investigation remains ongoing. There is no immediate connection between the location’s permanent closure and the reported burglary.
On September 28, days before the New York City Chip City closures, Chip City’s co-founder and former CEO Peter Phillips filed a lawsuit against the business alleging a dispute over the handling of his compensation and matters related to small business loans after he says he stepped down from the CEO role in March 2026.
There is nothing in the lawsuit that connects to Chip City’s decision to close stores, but the timing is notable.
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They confirmed on Instagram that they’ve closed ALL locations, blaming “significant macro-economic headwinds.”
Something unusual is happening here. Why would an “evidence collection team” appear at an economic business story? Is this a criminal matter?
Other media across the tristate suggest Gus may have secured the scoop that could drive further developments and elevate the story—stay tuned.
Never even heard of Chip City. That being said, I hope they served their last remaining cookies to the NYPD for free.
“I guess that’s”
{slowly takes off sunglasses}
“How the cookie crumbles.”