The wait for Rowan Boulevard’s newest dessert shop is over. The Rowan and Glassboro community have a new restaurant to look forward to as Waffa! Theory opened its doors on Nov. 28, 2023.
The idea of Waffa! Theory came to light when owner Courteney Bourget’s sister had a dream to start a family business. However, the process of finding an idea was a hard one. It involved lots of brainstorming between Bourget and her sisters. Eventually, they all mutually agreed on making a sweet treat-based shop. Specifically, the sisters were interested in bubble waffles, which originated from street vendors in Hong Kong.
“The actual concept came from my sister, my sister-in-law, and myself and we just wanted it to be more dessert forward for Waffa! Theory,” said Bourget. “We sell a lot of savory bites, we have three different brands, they don’t have a storefront, but they run in our kitchen.”
The restaurant’s focus is on creating Instagram-worthy desserts that are created on a fast-food level. In order to make the food, they use different equipment, and with these different types of equipment, they realized that there were no limitations. That’s when three more brands were added to Waffa! Theory.
The first one is Sweet Teazel’s Treatz, consisting of sweetened gourmet bites. Their other brand, Everywin Hot Chicken & Shrimp, serves hot honey chicken or shrimp with a personal touch. The last brand offered at the dessert shop is called Box n’One Burgers and Dogs, serving classic, popular American foods.
Bourget also wanted to stick with a theme that related to their foods at Waffa! Theory. She states that the “Waffa!” refers to the bubble waffles incorporated into some of their treats. The “Theory” in the restaurant’s name refers to the scientific and industrial themes of the restaurant. Along with the bubble waffles, they also try to push their nitrogen ice cream.
The dessert shop is different than other restaurants located at Rowan Boulevard, and that’s because at Waffa! Theory, customization of meals are encouraged. Bourget spoke about what she personally believes sets the shop apart from others.
“We have the opportunity for customers to come in and use their creativity. There are other places where you can create your own meals, but those are limited,” Bourget said. “Customers can come in and personalize their own rice krispies treat, I’ve seen them add gummy bears to different treats. You can add cinnamon sugar to fries, you can do pretty much whatever you want to do.”
Waffa! Theory is also owned by two other people alongside Courteney Bourget: Lauren Williams and Nicole Jones. The dessert shop also works with Burak Eraslan’s agency, SimplyDSGN, which handles all of its marketing, promotions, and socials. Their company played a key role during Waffa! Theory’s grand opening, as they shot promotional pictures, videos, and showcased the food visually for all the community to see on social media.
Eraslan is also trying to create more promotional rewards for customers, in order to individually cater to the loyal ones. He believes that these types of promotions are necessary to entice students, residents, and the general public as a whole to visit their shop.
“So definitely for first-time customers, we want to provide incentives, discounts for, you know, trying different foods. We’re trying to provide incentives whether it’s a discount or you know, something like your sixth or seventh because you’re getting something for free. We’re still working on it.” said Eraslan. “We’re actively working on our pricing structures as well, based on what we’re seeing from our current customers.”
Eraslan is hoping that the community keeps up with those promotional plans, updates, and more about the dessert shops on Waffa! Theory’s Instagram.
Even though their opening was recent, Bourget has already noticed returning customers and clubs on Rowan’s campus using the dessert shop as a meeting place.
“It’s a very friendly environment,” said Eraslan. “In addition, we’re one of the few stores that are open so late into the night, which addresses the issues of the community, when some stores close too early.”
The staff and owners hope that the community will be patient with them because this is such a new concept for Glassboro. For Bourget, her main goal is for customers to try everything.
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