After moving to Los Angeles in the late 1960′s, Amos switched his focus to his love of baking cookies. He wanted his family recipe to go public. So, with the help of the same music artists he helped make famous, he opened Famous Amos Cookies in 1975 with a $25,000 investment. The brand grew quickly and Amos opened several key locations then was picked up by Bloomingdales Department store. But within ten years, Amos’ lack of business management skills led to the continuous sale of Famous Amos. His brand name diminished after he sold Famous Amos to Shansby Group. After the sale, Amos attempted to start the Chip & Cookie company using his famous recipe, but was sued by Shansby for violating his contract. Amos tried again with Uncle Noname Cookies in 1992.
In 1998, Famous Amos was purchased by Keebler. They brought the cookie maker back as the face and spokesperson of the Famous Amos brand. Since then, Wally Amos has moved to Kailua, Hawaii, where he continues to sell the Chip & Cookie brand cookies in a Hawaiian storefront along with his line of Uncle Wally’s Family of Muffins which are shipped to over 5,000 stores in the United States. He also works as a motivational speaker and spokesman for Literacy Volunteers of America.
His old Famous Amos Panama Hat is now at the Smithsonian Museum.
Little Known Black History Fact: Wally Amos was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
