Cinnaholic, a customizable cinnamon roll shop, opening first NJ location in Westfield

Throughout the United States and Canada, dessert lovers have been to flocking to 30 Cinnaholic locations, a gourmet and customizable cinnamon roll-focused bakery now-franchise that was featured on "Shark Tank" in 2014.

Now, thanks to franchisee Vikas Mittal, New Jerseyans can soon try it for themselves in Westfield, where Mittal is opening the first Garden State shop at 18 Elm St. with a grand opening celebration on Friday, May 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"There's nothing else like it around here," said Mittal. "The closest locations are in Baltimore and Lancaster, and I thought this would play well on the dessert sphere. The ability to customize it makes it a fun, unique concept and the cinnamon buns are great, too."

Inside the 1700-square-foot, 24-seat shop, visitors will be able to top their cinnamon rolls which are all 100 percent vegan, dairy and lactose-free, egg-free and cholesterol-free with choices of 18 frosting flavors and 23 toppings. Or, instead of designing their own cinnamon roll, they can also choose from recommended selections such as blueberry pie ($6.50), cookie monster ($7) and strawberries and cream ($6.50).

Customers can purchase a basic cinnamon roll for $5.25 each, and then upgrade with a frosting for an additional 50 cents and as many toppings as they please for 50 cents each.

In addition to cinnamon rolls, the Cinnaholic menu will also include bite-sized "Baby Buns," cookies, brownies, raw and edible cookie dough, locally sourced coffee from Great Notch Coffee Roasters, based in Newark, and customizable catering options.


Mittal, who left his career in investment banking about three years ago and came across Cinnaholic when it was introduced to him from a franchise broker, thought all the company's marketing materials made great business sense, but when he tried the product for the first time "" through the mail "" he was really sold.

"They mailed me some cinnamon rolls, so I wasn't expecting anything great, since I figured they would be a few days old," said Mittal, who lives in Hoboken. "But when I heated them up and topped them to my liking I found that they were still soft and delicious, and the frosting just accentuated the taste."

Mittal began his search for a home for his new franchise location in Hoboken, but soon came across Westfield and learned it to be a "friendly, small community where everyone looks out for one another," he said. Plus, he explained, a growing population of vegans reside in the area, so from a business perspective, its locale made sense.
After Mittal signed his Westfield lease, he began to do some research on the next steps required for his business in town when he came across the Downtown Westfield Corporation, which is the management entity of the special improvement district tasked with strengthening the downtown area. He gave them a call and was met with a response that to him, defined the town.

"Director Sherry Cronin said to me, "You're the one opening Cinnaholic? Everyone knows about you we were waiting for you to call!"- Mittal recounted.

"This is one of those towns where everyone just knows what's happening," he said. "All of the small business owners have come by the shop and have been really friendly - I probably have about a dozen people pop in everyday and introduce themselves."

Mittal hopes to grow the franchise further down the road, possibly opening stores in towns such as Ridgewood and Hoboken as well as in New York City, although nothing is set in stone right now.

Inside the Westfield shop, which was gut-renovated from its former home as part of neighboring Ferraro's (which is still in business), the decor will have a modern theme with black-and-white focus colors as well as some classic Westfield characteristics, such as an exposed brick wall that Mittal couldn't bear to part with. A purple accent wall completes the space.

Cinnaholic was born of co-founders Shannon and Florian Radke, who opened the first location in Berkeley, California in 2010. After they appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2014, they adopted a franchise business model and began expanding Cinnaholic locations throughout the United States and Canada.

If you go

Cinnaholic

Where: 18 Elm St., Westfield

Opening: May 10, with celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For More Infromation Please contact:
Jenna Intersimone
Email: [email protected]

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