Pink, flower-covered walls and a flamingo mascot can only be attributed to Mingos, one of the Lexington area's newest cookie shops.
Mingos Cookies & Bubble Tea is a sweet shop located at Kitty’s Korner in Lexington that opened less than a year ago in March 2021. The shop's motto is “Happiness Starts Here,” a phrase that holds true according to owner Richard Pellerano.
Owners Richard Pellerano and his wife are sweet lovers themselves. Pellarano said the pair opened the shop to provide a happy place where visitors can come to treat themselves and brighten their moods with desserts.
“A lot of the planning and execution took place while the pandemic was going on, and we were using that also as, kind of, motivation or an inspiration to create something different,” said Pellerano. “A place where people can kind of come enjoy and hang around and, you know, bring a little more happiness to your lives.”
He said the stores aim was to always bring smiles to the faces of their community by creating a “fun, vibrant, friendly, welcoming, sweet place.”
The shop offers a variety of flavors for both cookies and milk tea. Most notable is their Cocky cookie, a red velvet cookie with milk and white chocolate chips, Oreos and Nutella.
Pellerano said that cookie shops typically target college towns, but he and his wife wanted to do it differently.
“We wanted to serve our real community, the people who are here every day. The moms and the dads and, you know, the local schools,” Pellerano said.
Mingos serves local schools and first responders in the area through caterings, and promotes events such as school fundraisers on their social media, according to Pellarano.
According to Sommer Hoffman, literacy coach at Meadow Glen Middle School, Mingos’s involvement in the local area fosters a more connected community in the Lexington area.
“Just with all the craziness going on and, you know, you can always walk in there and no matter who was working, they’re just always pleasant,” Hoffman said.
Mingos catered with Meadow Glen Middle School for teacher appreciation, and Hoffman says that working with them has been pleasant. The owners hand delivered their cookies to the school, showing how down to earth they can be, according to Hoffman.
Brooke Riley, a student at Pelion High School, says that her biggest draw to Mingos is the community and environment of the establishment, helped by the friendliness of the employees that work there.
“Every time I’ve come in here, there’s always been someone who’s just overly friendly,” Riley said. “It’s just a nice environment.”
Riley also said the cookie shop is cozy and filled with kind people, making for a welcoming atmosphere for their community. An added plus is that it always smells good in the shop, Riley added.
Richard Pellerano says that their success with Mingos has been attributed to their community, and they show love to them as well through a mutual love for cookies. “We have been so successful, truly, because [the community] have welcomed us and taken us in." Pellerano said.