Nathan Pendleton spent 25 years working in the tech industry, until one day he didn’t. Laid him off from his electrical engineering position, the longtime San Jose resident stood at a career crossroads. In the kind of logic that has become typical of Silicon Valley, Pendleton decided to play it safe and launch Nox Cookie Bar, an on-demand, late-night cookie delivery service.

“I could have easily have gone back and gotten another job at a similar company,” Pendleton says, “but it was one of those moments where I asked myself—is this what I want to do or is there maybe something that might be more interesting and time for a change?”

Nox, Latin for “night,” intends to satisfy the sweet tooth cravings of college students and corporate schleps alike by rush-delivering warm, gooey treats between 11:30am and 2:30am.

Customers can choose between eight different types of cookies, which presented a challenge when deciding between Snickerdoodle’s and satisfying my chocoholic needs with the Quattro Cioccolato. I ended up buying four types of cookies on the easy-to-use website before quickly receiving a confirmation message that my order would arrive in 30 minutes.

To my surprise, a delivery man was knocking on the office door only 16 minutes later, carrying an insulated bag filled with boxes of warm cookies.

It requires mentioning: This is an excellent way to make friends in the office. In less than a half hour from the time I ordered, my desk was surrounded by an entire newsroom; everyone had a cookie in hand.

“What’s your name again?” they asked the intern.

Pendleton took a monstrous leap of faith by entering the cookie biz, but the company is now approaching its one-year anniversary. What began as one-man show, Pendleton now has a staff of 10, serving San Jose and Santa Clara with cookies that range from $1 to $1.50 per cookie, depending on order size, along with a $3 delivery fee (pickup is free).

Nox has become a late-night phenomenon thanks to its eight options, none more popular than the Chocolate Chip ‘n Chunk. Another tasty option includes the Cookie con Candy, an M&M-filled delicacy. With a minimum purchase of $7.50 to place a delivery order, Nox is both convenient and affordable. Surging popularity has Pendleton thinking big for the future.

“Ideally, in 2017 we’ll have a storefront open in downtown San Jose or nearby,” he says.

Nox Cookie Bar 
326 Commercial St, San Jose.
www.noxcookiebar.com