FROM THE ARCHIVE: Interview with Mrs. Fields Cookies founder Debbi Fields in 1984

SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Debbi Fields, the founder of the popular Mrs. Fields cookies first opened in Palo Alto in 1977.

She was only 26 years old when she spoke to retired ABC7 Arts and Entertainment reporter Don Sanchez in November 1984. By the end of that year, she would have 65 stores and employed 600 employees with projected sales of $20 million.

As of 2021, it is now headquartered in Colorado, and there are more than 750 owned and franchised locations in 33 countries, according to its website.

Debbi Fields grew up in Oakland, and credits her (ex) husband Randy, for starting her business.

"He was genuinely concerned about whether or not the cookies would be successful in the marketplace," she said. "But he believed in me, and I guess that's the most important thing. He gave me the money to make the first cookie store possible."

Fields says her family and employees are important to her, and it's a part of the philosophy which goes beyond cookies.

"We believe that we need to do something for our community, meaning it's not how many cookie stores you build. It's what you have done for society," she said.

"When it's all said and done in my lifetime, if I look behind me and I said 'if I done something for my community that was worthwhile, not cookies, but maybe a fundraising event like cystic fibrosis were the number one largest corporate sponsor, then I know that I'm succeeding in my life and I'm successful.'"

In this edition of "From The Archive" in 1984, Bay Area native and Mrs. Fields founder, Debbi Fields, talks about the success of the iconic specialty cookies and brownies bakery.