Plant store to bloom, cookie shop to satisfy sweet cravings at Lehigh County shopping center

S. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. - The retail lineup of a prominent Lehigh Valley shopping center is set to expand with two new tenants this spring.

Village West, at Tilghman Street and Cedar Crest Boulevard in South Whitehall Township, will welcome two businesses – The Wicked Botanist and Cookie Plug cookie chain – within the next few months.

The Wicked Botanist

The Wicked Botanist, a plant nursery that originated in March 2021 at 707 N. New St. in Bethlehem, is expected to grow in early April with another store next to GNC in Village West, owner Dawn Ash said.

Ash labels the forthcoming South Whitehall location a “pop-up” as she committed to the space for one year.

“I’m hoping to make it permanent,” she said. “We’re going to do it for a year and see how it goes.”

Ash, a lifelong plant lover, stocks The Wicked Botanist with a wide selection of plants - from common, easy-to-maintain house plants to rare and exotic varieties.

She can’t say exactly how many plant types that the business carries, but she knows that it’s “easily over 100.”

Some plants are part of the same genus, meaning they have similar characteristics, but they also have distinctly different traits, Ash said.

“A lot of people who come in are new to the plant scene and looking for low-light plants,” Ash said.

“So, we sell a lot of philodendrons, pothos, snake plants, ZZ plants. A lot of people also gravitate to hoya, which is a type of plant that takes a good amount of light, but the nice thing about a hoya is that it will flower and each different type of hoya gives you a different flower. So, it’s a way to have a plant and flowers at the same time. It’s a favorite mine.”

The South Whitehall store will carry the same wide selection of plants, accessories and gifts found in Bethlehem, along with expanded merchandise and store features, Ash said.

For example, an area will be devoted to allowing customers to pot their plants in the pots or containers of their choice.

Ash is knowledgeable about which soil mixes help certain plants thrive and will be able to guide customers during the process.

“They’ll be able to make a soil mix custom to the plant that they’re purchasing,” Ash said.

“I’ll have recipes on the wall, and I could also help them if they want. I would say 95-98% of the plants that I have in the store are also in my house. So, I’m very familiar with them. Also, if someone has a plant at home that they want to repot, they could bring that plant in as well, and we could help them make the perfect soil mix.”

In addition to plants and pots, The Wicked Botanist’s new store will feature plant accessories and gifts such as macramé plant holders, reusable tote bags, mugs, plant stakes and trellises.

Ash is also seeking to partner with local artists and artisans to feature paintings, jewelry and other creations.

For individuals seeking to bring even more of nature inside their home, the shop will also carry terrariums, including bioactive terrariums featuring self-sustaining ecosystems, and host terrarium classes.

“We’re going to have bioactive terrariums, where you put insects in them, and they keep the tank clean,” Ash said. “You could also put little frogs, geckos or other animals inside.”

Ash, a resident of North Whitehall Township, was attracted to the Village West space as she previously lived near the shopping center and enjoys the area.

She’s excited to expand her business’ operations while sharing her passion for plants with more customers of the Lehigh Valley.

In August 2022, The Wicked Botanist opened another retail location at 226 W. Main St. in Kutztown, but Ash plans to close the Kutztown location in May to focus on the Bethlehem and South Whitehall stores.

“I’m very familiar with the Village West shopping center,” Ash said.

“So, when the prospect of opening there came up, I went back and forth about it because I originally wanted to find a bigger location in Bethlehem. But then I thought, ‘You know what? I’m familiar with that shopping center, I like the community and vibe, and I feel like a plant store would be perfect there.’”

Ash is heavily involved in the Lehigh Valley plant scene, organizing local festivals such as the Lehigh Valley Wicked Plant Festival, featuring more than 70 plant and other retail vendors, artisans, food trucks, live music and other entertainment, at the SteelStacks campus in south Bethlehem.

The Lehigh Valley Wicked Plant Festival is held twice a year, with the next rain-or-shine event scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 28.

In the summer, The Wicked Botanist also will host the inaugural Maidenfest, a free event celebrating local women artisans and featuring food and entertainment, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 20 at South Mountain Grove in Allentown.

Cookie Plug

Also coming soon to Village West is a rapidly growing cookie chain, known for its baked fresh daily “fat stacks.”

Cookie Plug, a fresh-baked cookie company that combines graffiti, street art and hip-hop culture to create a unique twist on cookies, is planning to open its first Lehigh Valley location in late spring at South Whitehall shopping center, franchisee Carlos Silver said.

The new Cookie Plug location will occupy Unit 10B (a few doors down from Sumo Sushi & Japanese Fusion restaurant).

The California-based chain has taken the dessert industry by storm over the past few years, growing from a single location in southern California in 2019 to more than 150 stores open or under development nationwide in 2023.

Each location, featuring a colorful design and street art-themed graffiti on the walls, offers more than a dozen cookie varieties, including staples like the O.G. (chocolate chip), Firecracker (s’mores), Pixie Junkie (sugar cookie) and Cookie Cookie Cream (cookies and cream).

The cookies, baked on site with high-quality ingredients, also include popular selections such as Bam Bam (fruity cereal), Pink Elephant (strawberry cheesecake), Good Luv (red velvet cake) and Snooperdoodle (snickerdoodle).

Keto-friendly flavors are also available.

“Our cookies are like no other,” a message on the chain’s website reads. “Part cookie, part cake, part brownie, but always Thick, Fat and Bomb AF!”

In addition to the traditional sized cookies, customers can enjoy “Plug Poppers,” which are miniature versions of the cookies.

You also can take your dessert experience to the next level by going for the “iced up” option, which is two cookies of your choosing with ice cream in the middle.

“All around the world cookies follow the same blueprint,” an online business description reads. “At Cookie Plug, we realized that something new was long overdue.”

Cookie Plug and The Wicked Botanist will join around 20 other Village West tenants, including Giant, CVS, Dollar Tree, Sumo, Manhattan Bagel, Panera Bread, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Ninja Ramen.

Silver said the South Whitehall location is the first of three stores that he plans to open in the Lehigh Valley area.