Cinnabon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Cinnabon, Inc.

Cinnabon mall bakery location in Moscow, Russia (2019)
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Restaurants
Founded	1985; 39 years ago (1985) in Federal Way, Washington
Headquarters	Sandy Springs, Georgia , United States
Key people	Kendall Ware (Chief Brand Officer) Kat Cole ([CEO)]
Products	Cinnamon rolls Coffee Churros Milkshakes
Parent	AFC Enterprises (1998–2004) Focus Brands (2004–present)

Cinnabon is an American chain of baked goods stores and kiosks, normally found in areas with high pedestrian traffic such as malls, airports and rest stops. The company's signature item is a cinnamon roll. As of December 2017, there are more than 1,200 Cinnabon bakeries operating in 48 countries. Its headquarters are in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States.

The company is co-owned — with Schlotzsky's, Carvel, Moe's Southwest Grill, McAlister's Deli, Jamba, and Auntie Anne's brands — by Focus Brands, an affiliate of private equity firm Roark Capital Group, based in Sandy Springs, Georgia, operating over 5,000 stores.

History

A Cinnabon cinnamon roll in a to-go box.

The first Cinnabon opened on December 4, 1985, Federal Way, Washington at SeaTac Mall, now called The Commons at Federal Way. Cinnabon was an offshoot of the Seattle Based Restaurants Unlimited restaurant chain majority owned by Rich Komen with minority partner and CEO Ray Lindstrom at the helm. Komen and Lindstrom wanted to create the perfect cinnamon roll, eventually hiring Jerilyn Brusseau to finalize the recipe since Brusseau was famous for her baking in the Seattle area. The first bakery began by serving only its cinnamon rolls with a sign touting "World Famous Cinnamon Rolls". Cinnabon's first franchise-operated store opened in August 1986 just outside of Philadelphia at the King of Prussia Mall. Cinnabon stores today can also be found in gas stations, universities, rapid transit stations, casinos, and amusement parks.

Cinnabon was bought by AFC Enterprises, Inc. in 1998 for $65 million. In 2004, AFC Enterprises, Inc., sold Cinnabon for $30.3 million to FOCUS Brands, Inc., which is owned by the Atlanta-based private equity firm Roark Capital Group. The headquarters moved to Greater Atlanta in 1999. In 2020, British retail group EG Group announced a partnership with Cinnabon to open 150 branded stores in the UK over 5 years.

International locations

Current locations

Cinnabon has franchise operations in 48 countries which include:

Cinnabon at Legoland Windsor in the United Kingdom

In popular culture

In the AMC television series Better Call Saul, the main character, Saul Goodman, is shown working at a Cinnabon store in Nebraska as he is a fugitive from justice and living under the assumed name "Gene Takavic".

Several comedians, including Louis C.K. and Jim Gaffigan, have admitted to consuming Cinnabons in a self-deprecating way.

In the Starkid musical Black Friday, the audience overhears Linda Monroe remind her husband that is not allowed "within a thousand feet of a Cinnabon". The reason why is never explicitly mentioned, although Linda says she doesn't believe he just wants to smell them.

In the 2007 animated comedy film Bee Movie, protagonist Barry B. Benson describes a Cinnabon to his friend Adam Flayman that it's "bread and cinnamon and frosting, and they heat it up, really hot!" Later in the film, after Barry says that "Adam here has been a huge help," Adam is shown sleeping in a Cinnabon box.

Toward the end of the 2013 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, protagonist Walter Mitty meets with his eHarmony customer service representative, Todd Maher, at a Cinnabon.

In the 2017 comedy-drama film Please Stand By, protagonist Wendy Welcott works at a Cinnabon chain in a mall in San Francisco, California.

In the sitcom Brooklyn 99, Captain Raymond Holt played by Andre Braugher pronounces the chain as seen-a-bawn.

See also

In Spanish: Cinnabon para niños