There are few certainties in a UCLA student’s life ““
one of them, 25-cent cookies, no longer exists.
One of the Village’s most popular eateries, where students
flock to on the weekends for freshly baked cookies, has raised its
prices after 15 years of staying with the unbeatable price of 25
cents a cookie.
Diddy Riese Cookies raised its prices to 35 cents per cookie on
Sept. 1, citing rising costs of business as cause for the increase.
The self-proclaimed “home of the ice cream sandwich”
with its 25-cent cookie has for some years been a destination for
many UCLA students and Village patrons.
But Mark Perry, owner of Diddy Riese, believes his customers
will understand the price increase and added that his cookies are
still the best deal in town.
“Those people are so nice they deserve the extra 10
cents,” said Leslie Hovsepian, third-year history student and
varsity swim team member.
“I’m fine with it,” said Jenny Hall,
second-year UCLA undergraduate and Hovsepian’s fellow swim team
member. “The ice cream sandwiches are still a buck, so it
doesn’t really affect me,” she said.
Perry also noted that the cookies are cheaper if bought in
larger quantities. The store offers 3 cookies for $1, a half dozen
for $2 and a dozen for $3.50.
As generations enjoy Diddy Riese cookies, people have begun to
feel the store has a history to it, giving it an almost iconic,
landmark status in Westwood. Perry added that some of his customers
have told him they now come to the Village specifically for a visit
to Diddy Riese.
“I can’t go into the Village without going
there,” said Hall.
Hovsepian noted that the swim team takes its new recruits out
for Diddy Riese cookies.
Even the occasional Trojan has infiltrated the Village for
Diddy’s cookies.
Diddy Riese opened at its location on Broxton Avenue in the
summer of 1983, one year before the Olympics came to Los Angeles
and at a time when Westwood was the cinema capital of the West
Coast.
Perry remembers the Village at the time as a bustling retail
center going through a period of transition. As cinema screens
dominated the Village economy in the early 1980s, many new
“specialty retail” stores, such as yogurt, muffin and
cookie shops, were arriving to serve the youth-driven economy.
Diddy Riese was one of three cookie stores in the Village at the
time, and Perry remembers the competition as making immediate
success difficult. The decision was soon made to lower the price of
cookies, originally set at 35 cents, to 25 cents in order to be
more competitive.
Originally an independent, family-run business started by his
father, Perry took over as principal owner and manager in 1987. He
believes the store’s independent character lets customers
feel at home, playing a significant part in its success and
longevity.
“One of the cool things now is that people who have
graduated from UCLA are bringing their children here for their
first Diddy Riese experience,” Perry said. “People have
a real fond memory of this place in college and now it’s a
family place.”
Some graduates have even written Perry letters years after
moving away from Westwood, saying “”˜Thanks for getting
me through school’ and “˜We miss you,'” he
said.
Perry also said he believes the revitalization of retail
business in Westwood should include creative, independently owned
shops and boutiques, which like Diddy Riese have their own unique
character. It is only such stores, not in the “cookie cutter
pattern” of most shopping promenades, that will make Westwood
more competitive with other shopping areas, Perry said.
“People feel that this is their place, and I think that is
essential for success,” Perry said.