Midnightreats debuts at Reston Town Center

By Kaydence Smith, staff writer

Midnightreats is located at Reston Town Center. Photo by Isadora Guerreiro

Northern Virginia-based dessert company Midnightreats has relocated from Plaza America to Reston Town Center, bringing its plant-based cookies and late-night dessert menu to a more prominent location in the heart of Reston.

The company opened its first storefront in Reston in 2022 after starting as a home bakery in 2017. Before opening a brick-and-mortar location, the business also operated from a ghost kitchen in Chantilly.

According to co-owner Jemal Mahdi, visibility and foot traffic were major factors behind the move. "Our previous location was tucked away in the back of an office building that had once housed a Subway restaurant," Mahdi said. The new location's proximity to hotels, restaurants and community events made it an attractive fit for the growing business.

Midnightreats specializes in plant-based cookies made from scratch using original recipes. The bakery is best known for its signature "monster cookies," one-third-pound treats that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

The menu features four year-round monster cookie flavors: chocolate chip, birthday bash, cinna-roll and brownie. Three seasonal flavors rotate every two weeks. In addition to cookies, customers can choose from milk teas, dirty sodas, cookie pies and cookie nachos served with dipping sauces.

Although the bakery markets itself as plant-based, Mahdi said most customers are not vegan. "People come because they love cookies," he said.

Midnightreats has also become a popular option for customers with food allergies. The bakery operates a nut-free kitchen, with the exception of coconut, and all of its cookies are vegan.

Another defining feature is its late-night hours. Midnightreats remains open until midnight every day, offering a dessert option long after many businesses have closed. "We're glad to provide a late-night dessert option for people, especially being so close to hotels," Mahdi said.

Looking ahead, Midnightreats plans to continue expanding throughout the region, with locations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. currently in the planning stages.

Midnightreats’ new location is located at 1826 Discovery St, Reston.