Sticky Buns -- The Sweet Success Of Cinnabon Is In The Spice

IN A CITY WHERE nationwide entrepreneurial success is becoming commonplace, it almost went without notice that Cinnabon recently celebrated its 10th birthday and is growing like an adolescent on hormones.

And in an era where calorie counting has become a way of life and gooey, creamy desserts are regarded as - at least - imprudent, the Cinnabon success story is all the more remarkable.

Cinnabon is a confectionary spinoff of Seattle-based Restaurants Unlimited, a company founded by the imaginative and resourceful Rich Komen (who got his start as a youth selling hot dogs at Husky Stadium). Cinnabon is now larger than its parent company, which may not be a case of the tail wagging the dog - but the bun is.

Intended from the start to be an "indulgence" food option in suburban shopping malls, the cobalt blue, white tile and pink-neon mini-bakeries are opening a new outlet every seven days - and not just in malls. They are expanding to interstate rest stations, airports and supermarkets across the country.

All on the premise of a single food item.

"We knew we had to make it irresistible," Komen said. "And we did."

Cinnabon sells no sandwiches, no cookies, no burgers. Just cinnamon rolls (in two sizes), custom orange and lemon juices and their own brand of coffee, including an iced chocolate mocha, the Mochalatta Chill.

The origins of the enterprise are pure Komen: Get an idea, perfect it at all costs, and run with it.

Where did the idea come from?

"Product news travels fast in this industry," Komen said. "I had heard of two successful cinnamon-roll places; one in Idaho (I can't remember which town now, it may have been Boise) and another in Kansas City, Mo. - T.J's Cinnamon Rolls. We had also noted the great success of cinnamon rolls at several county fairs.

"At first we tried to set up a franchise arrangement with the Kansas City place. When that failed, we decided to do it on our own."

The result: 40 million handmade cinnamon rolls were sold last year, with revenues in '94 of $100 million.

How did they do it?

The key players were Ray Lindstrom, now CEO of RUI; Dennis Waldron, now CEO of Cinnabon; Rick Giboney, now vice president of brand development; head coach Komen and his son Greg; and Edmonds restaurateur and specialty baker Jerilyn Brusseau.

"In the late '70s," recalled Lindstrom, "when we changed our name to RUI, we began looking around and asked ourselves if possibly we couldn't do more."

The company had already developed a thriving local-regional chain of restaurants and had made a transition from somewhat corny "Olde English" themed steakhouse-salad bars to a more contemporary, eclectic menu chain: Scott's, Triples (since closed), Cutter's Bayhouse, Palomino Bistro, Palisade, etc. RUI now owns 25 restaurants in six states.

"We had a lot of quality people and wondered what else we could do. By 1985, we saw that food service in shopping malls were in transition from ordinary fast food to some well-executed items. We also saw that malls were becoming more than just a place to shop. They were becoming places where people went for recreation and that they spent a lot of time in them. That meant there was going to be pressure on food service."

They began looking for a distinctive snack.

"When Rich discovered the cinnamon roll concept in Kansas City, we flew back - to eat a cinnamon roll. We thought that we could do a high-quality, indulgent baked item. We knew of Jerilyn Brusseau, and that she was dedicated to quality and natural ingredients. We asked her to join us and she was delighted to join."

"I was thrilled," said Brusseau. "I saw my role as the creator of a warm-hearted, soul-connected cinnamon role. And I spoke the language of cinnamon rolls. I grew up with them, baking them with my grandmother since I was 9 years old."

The test kitchen at RUI's corporate headquarters at 1818 N. Northlake Way was converted into a commercial bakery. Brusseau went to work, rolling out from two to four test batches a day. It took three months.

"She started with a recipe from her grandmother in Montana who used to make them for sheepherders," said Lindstrom.

"We give full credit to Jerilyn. We called her the Cinnamom."

Brusseau's breakthrough came when Crescent spices introduced the team to "a new level of cinnamon, Indonesian Korintji cinnamon," Komen said. "From that point on, we knew we had the flavor we wanted."

There are now more than 280 Cinnabons in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with an additional 200 planned by 1999, including expansion to Europe.

Cinnabon sells the large roll (810 calories) for $1.89 and a smaller one (330 calories) for $1.29. (Though RUI wouldn't release the secret recipe, it did pass along Brusseau's one for cinnamon coffee cake, above.) The Indonesian cinnamon has become an exclusive house brand, Makara. A two-ounce jar sells for $4.95.

It's a devilishly appealing product. The dough is light and fluffy; the cream-cheese enhanced topping is sweet and silky, but not cloying. There are no raisins (Komen discovered early on that 20 percent of mall-snackers don't like them). And the rolls are impeccably fresh - guaranteed to be sold within 30 minutes after baking.

"It's wonderful, rich everyday food," Brusseau said. "It took all of my technique, all of my baking chemistry to make it, and all of my grandmother's essential human goodness."

(Copyright 1995, John Hinterberger. All rights reserved.)

John Hinterberger's restaurant and food columns appear in The Seattle Times in Sunday's Pacific Magazine and Thursday's Tempo. Mike Siegel is a Times photographer.

Jerilyn Brusseau's Makara Cinnamon Apple-Pecan Sour Cream Coffee Cake Serves 8 Batter:

1/2 cup butter or margarine 1 cup granulated sugar 3 eggs 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon Makara or other cinnamon 1 cup sour cream or yogurt 2 cups chopped apples

1/2 teaspoon vanilla Topping:

3/4 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon flour 1 1/4 teaspoon Makara cinnamon 2 tablespoon melted butter 1 cup chopped pecans 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, beating well. 2. Sift together dry ingredients; then add to butter and egg mixture. Stir in sour cream, apples and vanilla. Pour into greased baking pan 8 1/2-by-11 inches or a 10-inch round cake pan. 3. Stir the topping ingredients together and sprinkle over batter in the pan. 4. Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center of the cake comes out clean. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Note: Pears or peaches may be substituted for apples.