Here's a reason to move to Southlake: It'll be the first city in Texas to welcome a branch of Cinnaholic, a gourmet cinnamon roll bakery that was featured on Shark Tank in 2014.
Cinnaholic occupies a unique niche: It's a custom cinnamon roll concept, with more than 30 frosting flavors and nearly two dozen toppings. You select a frosting such as maple or Irish cream, then add toppings such as fresh berries, nuts or gingersnap cookies. Everything is dairy-free, lactose-free, egg-free and cholesterol-free — which means Cinnaholic is also vegan.
"We don't have a sign that says it's a vegan cinnamon roll," says co-owner Florian Radke. "Our big thing is that we're the first and only custom gourmet cinnamon roll shop."
The company was launched in 2009 by baker Shannon Radke and her husband, Florian, in Berkeley, California. The Southlake branch, which will open this summer in the Wyndham Plaza at 2704 E. Southlake Blvd., is part of a first round of 10 new stores that also includes locations in Maryland, Delaware and North Carolina.
Florian says their journey has been a wild ride, as they went overnight from a tiny shop in the Bay Area to a nationally known brand.
"We opened our store in Berkeley, with the idea to see how it worked out," he says. "Suddenly we were on national television. While we were watching the episode, we could see the traffic growing on our website where it was almost freaking us out."
Following Shark Tank, they were flooded with inquiries from people who were interested in the concept and found a group who could help them expand organically.
Although their products are vegan, that's almost secondary, Florian says.
"If you go into our store in Berkeley, we don't have a sign that says it's a vegan cinnamon roll," he says. "Our big thing is that we're the first and only custom gourmet cinnamon roll shop, with frosting flavors and toppings. We're like a Cold Stone Creamery for cinnamon rolls."
He says they're also part of a trend toward more high-quality desserts.
"It's similar to the doughnut shops, where you spend money on one treat," he says. "This is a cinnamon roll made to order made just for you. It's pricier than the competitors you see at the mall, but it's a better product. And then we also cater to the people with dairy and egg allergies.
"We get a lot of moms with kids that can't have dairy. But then we have customers who have no idea it's vegan at all."
Cinnaholic lets you customize your cinnamon rolls with frostings and toppings.
Rendering of interior of Queens Head Pub, opening in Deep Ellum.Courtesy rendering