Cinnaholic, a new bakery in Oklahoma City’s Chisolm Creek district, offers fully customizable, 100% plant-based cinnamon rolls and desserts. Owners Keith and Kayley Ryden recently opened the franchise after discovering the brand during a trip to Texas. In this Q&A, they discuss their business model, what sets their products apart, and the local community’s reaction to their opening.
What is Cinnaholic?
Keith: “So we’re 100% plant-based, and with the gourmet cinnamon rolls, it’s fully customizable, which is unlike many of the other cinnamon roll shops that are around. There’s not a ton of them, but it’s good stuff.”
What’s the story behind Cinnaholic?
Keith: “So I do a lot of traveling for my other job. I’m a corporate pilot, and I was down in San Antonio and was with a guy. He’s got a sweet tooth. I found this place called Cinnaholic on one of the apps that you can search for different food places. We wound up going down there and trying it out, and I didn’t tell him that it was plant-based at the time, and he just was beside himself that it was.”
Can you walk us through the process of customizing your cinnamon rolls?
Kayley: “So when you walk in, you’ll see our four menu screens, and it will be, you have our signature rolls, which we have laid out here. And then we have the next screen will show our 20 frosting flavors. And then we have almost 30 different toppings you can do. So you can go in there and choose whichever one you want.”
Can you tell us about the menu items that you brought in today?
Kayley: “This one’s our berry berry. That’s our most popular. It’s a cake batter frosting with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberry jam. And this one’s the campfire s’mores. It’s a marshmallow frosting, graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate sauce. This is our shake, rattle, and roll. It has peanut butter frosting, our homemade peanut butter cups, bananas, and pretzels. Our old school, our cookie monster, which has cookie dough. That’s a caramel apple pie. That one’s also really popular. It has apples, pecans, apple crumble, and caramel frosting.”
What are people saying when they come in?
Kayley: “Oh my gosh, this is not plant-based.”
Keith: “People order six or twelve at a time and they just go to town on it.”
How do people react when they find out the cinnamon rolls are plant-based?
Kayley: “Yeah, there is. I mean, a lot of people have asked if it tastes like cardboard. You tell me if it tastes like that. But it doesn’t. I mean, everything’s made fresh daily.”
What other items have you brought into the studio today?
Kayley: “In the shop, we do cookie dough. We have a 16-ounce and an 8-ounce, so you can take it home and bake it or just eat it. We have our chocolate chip banana bread, our brownies, chocolate chip cookies, our cinna-doodles and then our baby buns. We sell them in packs of threes, or you can get a dozen or two dozen. A lot of people come in and get overwhelmed and are like, ‘I’ll just get that.'”
What is it like seeing your dream play out in real life?
Kayley: “It’s been…”
Keith: “Surreal.”
What kind of support have you had starting your business?
Kayley: “We have an amazing support system, and his mom is one of the co-owners, and we just have a great family support that has been with us through the whole process.”…