Cinnabon, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRestaurants
Founded1985; 39 years ago (1985) in Federal Way, Washington
Headquarters
Sandy Springs, Georgia
,
United States
Key people
Kendall Ware (Chief Brand Officer) Kat Cole (CEO)
ProductsCinnamon rolls
Coffee
Churros
Milkshakes
ParentAFC Enterprises (1998–2004)
Focus Brands (2004–present)
Websitewww.cinnabon.com

Cinnabon, Inc., 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 the cinnamon roll. As of December 2017, there are more than 1,200 Cinnabon bakeries operating in 48 countries.[1] Its headquarters are in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States.[2][3]

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,[4] 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, in Federal Way, Washington at SeaTac Mall, now called The Commons at Federal Way. Cinnabon was an offshoot of the Seattle-based Restaurants Unlimited 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.[5] 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.[citation needed]

Cinnabon was bought by AFC Enterprises, Inc. in 1998 for $65 million.[6] 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.[7][8] The headquarters moved to Greater Atlanta in 1999.[2] In 2020, British retail group EG Group announced a partnership with Cinnabon to open 150 branded stores in the UK over five years.[9][10]

On October 8, 2018, Cinnabon partnered with Pizza Hut to release mini cinnamon rolls labeled "Cinnabon Mini Rolls" in Pizza Hut (also known as MiniBons outside of Pizza Hut). These cinnamon rolls continue to be available at Pizza Hut.[11] In 2020, Pizza Hut brought back the Triple Treat Box, containing two medium one-topping pizzas, five breadsticks, and ten Cinnabon Mini Rolls.

International locations

Current locations

Cinnabon has franchise operations in 48 countries and places which include:

Former locations[edit]

Cinnabon at Legoland Windsor in the United Kingdom
Other Cinnabon locations

See also

References

  1. ^ Scents from a Mall: The Sticky, Untold Story of Cinnabon. Seattle Met, Retrieved 12 December 2017
  2. ^ a b "Cinnabon At-A-Glance Archived October 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine." Cinnabon. Retrieved on February 25, 2010.
  3. ^ "City Council Districts Archived January 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." City of Sandy Springs. Retrieved on July 4, 2009.
  4. ^ Focus Brands To Buy Cinnabon From AFC Enterprises. New York Times, September 9, 2004
  5. ^ Scents from a Mall: The Sticky, Untold Story of Cinnabon. Seattle Met, Retrieved 4 February 2019
  6. ^ "NY Times: AFC Enterprises to Purchase Cinnabon International". The New York Times. August 19, 1998. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  7. ^ "NY Times: Focus Brands to Buy Cinnabon from AFC Enterprises". The New York Times. September 9, 2004. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  8. ^ "Roark Capital Group :: Portfolio Companies". roarkcapital.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  9. ^ "EG Group to Open 150 Cinnabon® Bakeries Across the UK Under New Master Licensee Deal". Euro Garages. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  10. ^ Gilbert2020-11-30T12:00:00+00:00, Helen. "Cinnabon to open 150 sites in the UK". British Baker. Retrieved December 22, 2020.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Pizza Hut Will Now Deliver Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls With Your Pizza Order". Thrillist. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  12. ^ Barnsley, Warren (November 20, 2019). "Brisbane wins race for Australia's first Cinnabon, with store to open next month". 7News. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  13. ^ "Twenty-five new brands came to the Czech market last year". January 13, 2021.
  14. ^ "Cinnabon Hong Kong opens at Olympian City today!".
  15. ^ Cinnabon opens its first store in Iraq
  16. ^ Auntie Anne's, Cinnabon debut in Jamaica
  17. ^ "Cinnabon Branches, Amman, Jordan". Jordan Sun. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  18. ^ "Cinnabon in kuwait Locations & Store Hours". www.mystore411.com.
  19. ^ "Libya Herald: Tripoli's Cinnabon sales on a sugar high". December 29, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  20. ^ "Cinnabon – the Point".
  21. ^ Sufyan, Juan (December 15, 2022). "World's famous cinnamon roll chain, Cinnabon, to launch in Singapore next Feb 2023 at Raffles City". Yahoo! News. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  22. ^ "US bakery Cinnabon taps Seoul market". November 8, 2017., The Korea Herald, Retrieved May 8, 2018

External links

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Fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the United States
Food chains in the United Kingdom
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