(Photo by David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Roommates, a cookie legend transitioned out of his physical form this week. The New York Times reports that Wally Amos, creator of Famous Amos cookies, passed away on Tuesday (August 13) at his home.
According to the NYT, Wally was 88 years old at the time of his death. The Famous Amos inventor slipped away at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii.
However, it’s unclear if Wally Amos’ family plans to bury him in Honolulu or whether his body will be flown to the mainland U.S. Details of a homegoing service or celebration of life have yet to be announced.
His children,ShawnandSarah Amos, told the outlet their father died from complications with dementia.Meanwhile, official social media accounts for Famous Amos, namely Instagram and X, have yet to react to Wally Amos’ death.
In addition to being a shining example of successful Black entrepreneurship, Wally Amos made history in the cookie-making lane. The NYT reports that in 1975, he tapped a few of his friends in Hollywood for a $25,000 loan. He used the bands to start Famous Amos, a now widely recognized cookie brand.
In the 1970s, the brand was reportedly one of the first to sell its “high-quality cookies” in its own store. Wally Amos started with a single store in Los Angeles, and by the end of its first year in business, it had made 300,000. By 1981, Famous Amos was a $12 million company with storefronts across the country and cookies on grocery and specialty store shelves. In today’s money that would equate to $42 million.
Amos adaptedhis aunt’s chocolate chip cookie recipe and usedrealingredients. Additionally, he tried his best to keep the treat’s handmade essence, even after his business boomed nationally in the early 1980s, per the NYT.
Unfortunately, Wally Amos’ impact on his brand’s success slowed in the late 1980s. By 1988, he no longer owned Famous Amos. That year, he had sold a remainder of his equity stakes to the Shansby Group, a private equity, for $3 million, per NYT.
Rest in power, Wally Amos!
