She and her husband Randy opened their first of many stores in 1977 in Palo Alto, California,[5] selling homemade-style cookies which quickly grew in popularity.

All Hot Sam’s stores were converted to Pretzel Time and Great American Cookies, Pretzel Time and Pretzelmaker were later sold to Nexcen Franchise Management leaving only Mrs. Fields’ Cookies and TCBY as the portfolios brands.

According to then CEO Tim Casey, the move was because "Many casual/quick service franchise companies were launched from and are based in Denver, making it an ideal environment for idea sharing.

"[8] The company acquired long-standing licensee Maxfield Candy and high-quality nut, dried fruit, and popcorn brand Nutty Guys in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 24, 2014.

However, it was fake and the story that accompanied it was adapted from an urban legend attached to recipes for cookies from Neiman Marcus and Waldorf-Astoria for red velvet cake.

[12][13] Mrs. Fields avoided another bankruptcy in 2011 by agreeing to cede control of the company to its creditors, Z Capital Partners and Carlyle.