Brian
5673A McWhinney Blvd, Loveland, CO 80538
The words “wake up and roll” crown the mountainous logo of Cinnamon’s Bakery, where tourists and locals alike come to enjoy warm cinnamon rolls most mornings. No one takes that motto more seriously than the owner, Brian, who wakes up and rolls long before dawn.
His typical work day begins at 2 a.m., when he and his staff begin making dough, then rolling and baking the shop’s signature pastries. The process takes about three hours, and the bakers repeat it once or twice each day.
“We’re trying to constantly serve the freshest rolls,” Brian says.
Brian went to culinary school and worked as a chef in bustling Atlanta, Georgia. After starting a family, he and his wife desired a change in scenery and pace. Colorado was a perfect fit.
“We’re trying to constantly serve the freshest rolls,” Brian says.
Brian went to culinary school and worked as a chef in bustling Atlanta, Georgia. After starting a family, he and his wife desired a change in scenery and pace. Colorado was a perfect fit.
“The restaurants are not very conducive to family life. It’s a lot of long hours. You’re just gone a lot. As I was trying to find an alternative to a traditional restaurant, I’m just looking at some different things—then we saw the opportunity for Cinnamon’s up in Estes Park. . . . It’s still long hours, but I’m home for dinner every night.”
Coming from the “savory” end of the kitchen, Brian was delighted to discover just how good cinnamon rolls can be. In 2019, he and his wife purchased Cinnamon’s from its original owners, and three years later, they opened a second location in Loveland.
Today, Brian feels at home in Northern Colorado. His kids have grown up here, and his community shows up.
“We get a lot of support from the communities around here. We get a lot of repeat business. . . . We get teachers from my kids’ school in here on a regular basis, and we have businesses that come in and get cinnamon rolls every other week for their meetings. We have a doctor’s office that will come by; they’ll buy ten dozen cinnamon rolls to hand out to all their clients as they’re going through.”
Brian and his family have started venturing more often into their state’s outdoor offerings. He advises new Coloradans to start their own adventures earlier.
“Part of what we like here is the outdoors, the outdoor culture. . . . When we first moved here, I didn’t really pay attention to it. We’ve gotten into it more now, and I’m like, ‘I wish I’d done this earlier, because it is something pretty special.’”
