When we first arrived to meet Frederick and Douglass, you could tell something was amiss. We sat and listened to the heart breaking stories of their former lives. Many of the dogs had gone directly from a commercial breeder to the lab. They had never felt a blade of grass under their feet or felt the warmth of the sun on their skin. They lived in cages with steel wire floors that penetrated their tender paws and they had learned to become fearful of people from a lifetime in confinement and being restrained. Some had been surgically de-barked by the breeder and all of them had horrifying ID numbers tattooed in their ears as if they were property instead of living, breathing, beings.

Sitting on the grass just a few feet away, looking into those deep brown eyes, I tried to imagine the agony these creatures had endured. I watched as they hesitantly circled us, hiding behind bushes and trees, poking their timid little noses out every so often to assess the situation. As my sadness and frustration passed, I began to feel a sense of relief and joy for them. Knowing that there were people out there who cared about these animals enough to devote their time, money, patience, and effort to rehabilitating them brought a sort of comfort to my heart.

Gradually, they seemed to inch their way toward us as the time passed. By the hours end, curiosity seemed to have gotten the best of Frederick and Douglass and we’d all become friends.

When we think of Valentines day, we usually relate it to romance, material goods, love letters, things of that sort. Rarely, do we find ourselves celebrating true, genuine, selfless love. Inspired by Frederick and Douglass’ story, we couldn’t help but feel insane amounts of love and gratitude for them and the people who had come to their rescue. This year, in their honor and in the spirt of love, we have decided to donate $5 for every online order purchased now through February 9th to the Beagle Freedom Project .

Instead of giving the normal overly processed candies, or flowers and diamonds laced with cruelty, we encourage you to send your sweetie a box of delicious, handmade cinnamon rolls packaged with the utmost TLC from our little bakery. Our first 50 orders will include a beautiful, customizable, letter pressed card made locally by the ever-so-talented illustrator, Rigel Stuhmiller. Her work has been featured in Sunset Magazine, BARK magazine, Wired.com, Salon.com, Daily Candy, The Today Show, Apartment Therapy, Town and Country, and mentioned on NPR. We’ve also ordered some pretty darn cute tissue paper to top it off!

You’re probably thinking this story can’t get any more loveable, right? Well, you’re wrong.

When we contacted Rigel about ordering these adorable cards, she told us that the beagle who was featured, was actually a lab rescue also! She and her sister Maxine, were adopted by a loving couple and now reside in Emeryville, CA. It’s been reported that their progress since their rescue has been phenomenal.

Oh, and as for Frederick and Douglass? It turned out that in the end, their foster situation happily became their permanent home.

XOXO Happy Valentines Day! XOXO

Ok, ok, enough strolling down memory lane. Let’s get to the good stuff. Christmas is really about giving, right?! This year we’re giving away a spankin’ new dvd copy of Bold Native AND a $10 gift certificate to one lucky winner! All you have to do is comment on this blog post and tell us what your favorite winter cinnamon roll combination is. Eggnog frosting with marshmallows perhaps? Best sounding roll, wins! (#gimmiegimmiegimmie)

2011 has been an amazing year. We’re looking forward to making many more memories in 2012. Thank you for your continued feedback and support. We wish you an incredible New Year.

From our kitchen to yours,

Happy Holidays from the Cinnaholic staff

Picture: VegNews Magazine

With that said, we’ve taken a look back on all of our progress over the last year as well as some areas that need to be improved upon. As of November 1st, we will be adjusting some of our prices to match the costs of what we pay our vendors. Some companies raise their prices without telling you, but we’re not shady like that. We felt it was right to put everything out in the open. Here’s why…

First, we believe that a happy employee makes a happy customer. We know that surviving on minimum wage is nearly impossible these days which is why we make it a point to pay our employees a fair, liveable wage. We consider our employees family and not only do we care about what’s best for the company, but what’s best for our employees as well.

Second, we make sure that all of our vendors use vegan ingredients which unfortunately aren’t as easily available (or affordable) as non-vegan ingredients. Often times, we end up driving for hours to pick up these ingredients to assure that our product meets certain standards. Since our purchasing options are limited to such a small amount of vendors, we have no choice but to pay up when they increase their prices. Sadly, this has been the case with more than one vendor over the last year. We’ve done our best to buffer you from those cost increases, but feel that we are no longer able to meet the financial demands without compromising the product. In order to continue offering an exceptional product with a variety of options, we’ve decided to slightly increase our prices . Nothing drastic folks. We’re talking cents. Not dollars. We just thought it best to give you a heads up and thank you for your understanding in advance.

In more exciting news, we’ve teamed up with Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary this year to celebrate a “Toast to the Turkeys!” For the entire month of November, we’ll be donating 50% of all Baby Bun sales to help out with feeding, housing, and general care for the animals. That holiday spirit is creepin’ up on us!

Speaking of, be sure to keep an eye out for some of our favorite holiday specials! Pumpkin spice frosting with gingersnaps and holiday spices, peppermint hot cocoa with marshmallows, candy cane pieces, peppermint ‘Oreos’, ‘egg’ nog frosting…*drool*

Thanks again for your continued support and positive comments in the shop and on Yelp.com. We are eternally grateful for your feedback.

We look forward to spending another amazing holiday season with you!

Shannon Michelle

Members of our small bakery family have come and gone as time has passed and some still remain from the very beginning. Each of them have played an integral role in the shaping of what Cinnaholic is today. We’ve survived equipment breakdowns, dough failures, insane rushes, and dreadfully slow days. We’ve put everything we have into making sure that our customers leave our store with an amazing, unique, handmade product and a great experience. As a result, we’ve met some incredible people along the way and have shared some very interesting stories.

We’ve had the pleasure of working with some fantastic organizations such as Farm Sanctuary, PETA and several other animal rights related organizations to help provide care for animals in need which has been extremely rewarding. We are so thankful to have been given the opportunity to reach out to so many people and offer educational literature and talk with our customers about the benefits of following a vegan diet. We’re even more thankful for all the positive feedback we’ve received! Speaking of feedback, THANK YOU to everyone who has left us a positive review on our Yelp! page. Sure, there have been days when we weren’t on top of our game but we’re HUMAN! We appreciate each of the 276 glowing reviews that put us at a 4.5 star rating. You rock!

We’d like to thank all the organizations who’ve interviewed us or mentioned us in the press. Thanks to SF Weekly, VegNews, Entrepreneur Magazine, NBC’s ‘The Feast’, The Oakland Tribune, The Contra Costa Times and many more. Without press, we’d still be the Bay Areas best kept secret! We’ve also been super blessed with the opportunity to gain some great exposure by serving some major celebrities such as Rise Against, Milo Ventimiglia, Ed Templeton, members of Marilyn Manson, Anti-Flag, John Feldman of Gold Finger, Davey Havok of AFI & Ricky Rockett of Poison just to mention a few. Who could have guessed Hollywood would end up in our store?! Thanks guys!

As if all this positivity wasn’t enough to have us beaming from ear to ear, we were just recently informed that Cinnaholic won the East Bay Express Editors Picks award for ‘Best Remixed Comfort Food’! What an amazing anniversary present! This definitely merits a celebration!

Celebrate with us!

In honor of our 1 year anniversary, we will be offering $1 Old Skool rolls from 12-4 pm on Sunday, August 7th as a thank you to our customers.

Don’t forget! We also have brand new reusable travel mugs for sale too! Not only can you represent in style with these classy lookin’ mugs but your cup of coffee is FREE every time you bring it in and purchase a regular priced roll!*

See you all Sunday, August 7th!

* Terms & Conditions for the Cinnaholic free coffee deal:

• Only valid with purchase of a Cinnaholic anniversary travel mug (limited supply).
• Valid for one free coffee per person per day with purchase of regular priced roll.
• Offer available only while supplies last.
• May not be combined with other offers.

You can read the full “Best of the East Bay” issue online and see who else is featured in the list of winners.

Thanks so much for all your support!

Michael, my step-father, walked into our lives with open arms. Not only did he have three of his own boys to take responsibility for from a previous marriage, but he happily embraced the task of caring for my brother and I as well. Unfortunately for him, I was a hellion at that age! I did what I wanted, when I wanted and I wouldn’t take no for an answer. Not once did he ever try to be my father or reprimand me when I deserved it. Instead, he was patient, understanding and extremely tolerant. He was my friend, someone I could confide in when I couldn’t talk to my mom, he provided a roof over our heads, food on our table, guidance and constant reassurance that I was a special, beautiful, unique person which turned out to be exactly what I needed to hear back then. He did more for me than my biological father ever could have and I thank him from the depths of my soul for that.

My ‘parents’ are still married to this day and continue to raise my two brothers. One of whom has been disabled since birth. I’ve seen them go through good times and bad and despite the circumstances, they always put us kids first. The amount of strength, dedication, love and compassion it’s taken to hold our small family together with all of our differences, hasn’t been easy and I admire him for sticking through it all and staying by our side.

With that said, this month we would like to offer a very special thank you for all the fathers out there who have made a difference in our lives. Whether you’re a father, a grandfather, a soon-to-be father, a step father or perhaps just a father figure, this month is dedicated to you!

On Sunday, June 19th, we are offering all dad’s a free roll of their choice! All you need to do is bring dad into the store with you for a special treat. Buy one, get his free!

For all those long-distance dads, from now through June 15th, we will be offering FREE SHIPPING on all online orders!

Happy Fathers Day!

Mom’s are some of the strongest and most powerful women in the world. It was once said that where the “man is the head of the family, the woman is the neck that turns the head”. No truer word had been spoken when it came to my family. My grandma was the boss and whatever mom said came directly after. Dad never had a chance.

In a home where there was 10% fear of my mother, there was also 90% love. As most teenagers do, I rebelled. Despite all the times I ditched school, disappeared for the weekend, snuck boys into my room or swapped water for peppermint schnapps in her liquor cabinet, mom was always there for me. While I was off causing chaos, mom was holding down 2 jobs and trying to raise me the best she could on her own. Not only did she survive my teenage years (by some miracle), she has been one of Cinnaholic’s biggest supporters from day 1 and is one of our most important assets today with her role as office manager.

Now that I’m older, a little more settled and I can appreciate what it means to have to pay bills and make grown up decisions, I realize just how amazing my mom really was – and is! That’s why this Mother’s Day, we’ve decided to honor all moms.

On Sunday, May 8^th, we are offering all mom’s a free roll of their choice! All you need to do is bring mom into the store with you for a special treat. Buy one, get hers free!

Mom not in town? No problem! From today until May 4th we’ll be waiving our shipping costs so that you can send mom a box of our sweet, cinnamon-y treats with no extra shipping charges just in time for Mother’s Day! Who’s the most awesome kid in the world? ; )

Looking beyond whatever relationship we may have with our mother today, there is one thing you can be sure of and be thankful for. At one point, they made the decision to sacrifice themselves and give us the opportunity to be something amazing. If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is.

Happy Mothers Day to all the beautiful women out there!

*My mom is going to kill me for posting this picture of her.

Hey everybody! It’s been a while since we’ve updated our blog but I promise it’s not because we don’t love you. We’ve been crazy busy!

In February, we teamed up with PETA and launched our big Valentines Day promotion. We received an incredible response! Almost 70 dozen orders were sent out to your sweetie pies all over the country. Some of which included a ridiculously adorable gift card option with a personalized message. Each $5 donation went directly to PETA, then Cinnaholic matched that donation so that a total of $10 per order helped support PETA’s ground-breaking work for animals. By the way, every card was hand-written and I have to admit, there were semi-awkward moments when we were complimenting your sweeties buns.

In the beginning of March, we teamed up with a new start-up company called Daily Gourmet. Daily Gourmet is designed to find the most decadent companies in the country and share great products from unique producers with their consumers at a reduced price. In other words, they offer super bomb gourmet goods at awesome discount prices. We were stoked to be chosen as the very first deal to be featured on their website! After 2 full days of baking around the clock (I know some of you saw us dancing around deliriously in the store at 2am) we managed to ship out 90 dozen orders! It was an exhausting week for our entire staff but well worth all the positive responses that came rolling in the following week.

Speaking of positive responses, we’d like to thank the following companies for their kind words as of recent. Entrepreneur Magazine published an article titled ‘10 Business Investments to Make Now‘ featuring you guessed it, yours truly.

We were also the first company featured on Baking.net‘s new monthly write up ‘The Faces of Vegan Baking‘ and just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, we ran across this mention when we were standing in line at the grocery store. Cinnaholic made #16 of ’99 things you must do’ on the VegNews ‘Vegan Bucket List‘! Holy flattered Batman!

With a new month right around the corner, you can bet we’ve been tossing around a few ideas. Here’s a sneak peek at what we have in store…

Beginning in just a few weeks, we’ll be offering 100% vegan, all organic ice cream by Rocket Ship Ice Cream run by Sarah Smart! You may recognize Sarah’s ice cream from Millennium Restaurant, The Beehive Market and most recently, Whole Foods. Regardless what you may have already tried, she’s concocted three new tasty custom flavors specifically designed for Cinnaholic that will be exclusive to the shop! And you thought cinnamon rolls with toppings couldn’t get any better.

Happy Spring everyone! See you soon!

Earlier this month, we introduced our half dozen mail order option after several email requests from our customers. We’re happy to say that we’ve received nothing but positive feedback so far. A few Cinnaholic recipients you may recognize last month included, John Feldmann of Goldfinger, Tim McIlrath of Rise Against, Kat Von D and the High Voltage / “LA Ink” Tattoo Crew, Kenneth Wilson of Marilyn Manson & Aaron “P-Nut” Wills of 311.

Here’s a taste of what they had to say about our rolls:

“Your cinnamon buns are the BEST I’VE EVER HAD. We’re LOVING them. You are truly the best!” ~ John Feldmann of Goldfinger

“Thanks for the treats! Haven’t eaten them all yet , but what I have eaten was amazing!” ~ Drummer Ken Wilson of Marilyn Manson

“Oh, ****! I love cinnamon rolls…they look amazing!” ~ Tim McIlrath of Rise Against

Does it get any sweeter than that?!

As sad as it is to bid January adieu, we’re looking forward to the exciting new projects we’ve been working on come February.

We’ve decided to team up with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and create a special Valentines package for your sweetie. Now through Wednesday, February 9th, we’ll be busy filling boxes of soft, fresh, sweet, hand-crafted, 100% vegan cinnamon rolls for your Valentine. For an extra special touch, we’re also offering an adorable gift card option with a personalized Valentines message. Your $5 donation will go directly to PETA, then Cinnaholic will match your donation so that a total of $10 will be go to support PETA’s ground-breaking work for animals.

Speaking of sweethearts, we’re excited to announce that Jenn Shagrin, author of ‘Veganize This!‘ will be making a very special guest appearance at the shop on Friday, February 11th at 3pm! Jenn is a vegan chef, actress, and comedian. She has appeared in television shows such as Reno, 911! and films including Stay Cool and Wild Cherry and is best known for her vegan Twinkies, which are sold in cafes and stores across Los Angeles.

Jenn will be introducing her new book, ‘Veganize This!: From Surf and Turf to Ice-Cream Pie’. She’ll share her secrets for quickly transforming everyday meat-filled fare into tasty vegan options. From “Recipes to Get You Laid” to her “Vegan Holiday Survival Kit.” Vegan veterans will be charmed by Shagrin’s witty candor and the wide range of options she provides, while those new to vegan cooking will discover helpful sections dedicated to creating mock “meats” and dairy or egg substitutes, as well as quick tips for incorporating these—and Shagrin’s “Shaggy Kitchen Have-to-Have Pantry Essentials”—into almost any dish. Heck, we like this chick so much, we’ll even throw in a sweet discount on your roll when you buy a copy of her book!

So come by the shop and share the love this month!

~ Shannon Michelle

We were given the opportunity to present the movie premier of Bold Native when it came to town which was SUPER exciting. The movie captured Charlie Cranehill, an animal liberator wanted for domestic terrorism, who emerges from the underground to coordinate a nationwide action as his estranged CEO father tries to find him before the FBI does. Cool, right?

After the show, guest speaker John Robbins and Jake Conroy (one of the SHAC 7) dropped some crazy inspiration on us that left us all feeling enlightened and empowered. Finally, after months of emailing back and forth, we got to chat with director Denis Hennelly and producer Casey Suchan after the Q&A segment of the show. They’ve definitely made our list of top ten raddest people!  We ended the night with a round of hugs from friends we hadn’t seen in a while with hopes to catch up with them more at the Saturn Cafe Space Lounge later in the week. Turns out Joaquin Pastor, the main character in Bold Native, was playing a show with his band Masks. Amazing people, amazing music, amazing vegan peanut butter milkshake. That pretty much summed up the night.

Speaking of shows, we attended another event later in the month at the Regency Ballroom in SF that we thought was worth mentioning. One of our good friends who runs the sound board for Bad Religion was in town so we decided to trudge out in the rain to deliver some rolls and say hello. After briefly being hassled by security with our somewhat soggy box of cinnamon rolls in hand, we finally made it backstage in time to watch the end of the Bouncing Souls set and bump fists with Fat Mike and the Bad Religion guys before the main event. Needless to say, an incredible night for us, our friend, and our cinnamon rolls.

At the beginning of the month, a good friend of ours, Cello Dias, popped his head in to try out our rolls and drop off a demo cd for his new band Against All Will. If you live in LA, definitely check these guys out!

We were also blessed with a surprise visit from pro skater and artist extraordinaire, Ed Templeton and his wife who popped in to buy a few rolls! Staffer Justin, managed to snag a quick pic before they headed out.

By the end of the month we were beaming with excitement from everything that had happened. This was about the point where I logged into our Twitter account and saw a post that said…

“MV” meaning, Milo Ventimiglia. As in the star of the TV show ‘Heroes‘. You might also recognize him as Rocky’s son in Rocky 6, or the hot tattooed guy in Fergie’s ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry‘ video. You know exactly who I’m talking about ladies! Somewhere between being flattered and stoked, I noticed that he had almost 32,000 followers! Flattered just went out the window and turned into GRATEFUL. Thanks for the Cinnaholic mention Milo!

Ok, so all these crazy awesome things had been happening throughout the month. I was worried that I was about to have a stroke from all the excitement so we decided it was time to schedule a mellow night with our friends to celebrate and give thanks. We ended our perfect month with a perfect meal. A ridiculous all vegan Thanksgiving dinner with homemade Seitan and all the fixin’s!

Somehow we’ve managed to digest a weeks worth of Thanksgiving leftovers and now… we’re hungry for more action!

We’re gearing up to help you redeem your gift certificate purchases that you all generously purchased back in September when we needed a helping hand. We’ll be offering our tasty seasonal specials (Candy Cane topping, Peppermint Hot Chocolate anyone?) as well as organizing some fancy surprises and other exciting store announcements for the month of Decemer. Be sure to keep an eye out!

BRING IT December!

Shannon Michelle