"cinnabon" news and stories

Cinnabon wants to be more to you than just, well, Cinnabons.

As Nation's Restaurant News reports, the company is in the process of trying to avoid becoming the restaurant equivalent of a one-hit wonder. It's expanding its menu offerings and unveiling a "more relevant look" for its stores, according to Cinnabon president Gary Bales, which apparently involves "more contemporary dark wood and less clutter" (read: more like Starbucks and less like grandma's kitchen).

"Market saturation" is, perhaps, not quite the right term to describe what Cinnabon has achieved in 25 years. "Permeation" seems a better word for it. When you stop to think about it, the wafting aroma of warm cinnamon rolls has somehow become synonymous with two seemingly disparate mainstays of our modern cultural experience: airport travel and mall shopping. You can usually smell a Cinnabon from Macy's.

Now the company is looking to expand its horizons.

This Food Court Quiz will test your knowledge of mall food like Orange Julius, Sbarro, Auntie Anne's and much more.

It only took two years, since Carvel bought Cinnabon back in 2004, but the ice cream company is releasing an ice cream version of the famously decadent breakfast buns with its brand new Cinnabon Ice Cream flavor. It is a decadent mix of vanilla ice cream, vanilla crunchies, pound cake pieces, cinnamon and swirls of Cinnabon's cream cheese frosting. It would be hard to go wrong with a flavor combination that sounds that good, and since mix-ins are so popular at so many ice cream shops, consumers are probably more accustomed to the idea of having chunks of cake in their ice cream than they once might have been

The flavor will be going into limited release for the time being, but since 90% of test audiences said that they woulg definitely buy the flavor, it could make it onto the permanent menu before too long.

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As the weekend approaches, many of us are making plans to go shopping. If you're headed to the mall, that means you might be stuck eating lunch in *gasp!* the mall food court. Will it be a hot dog from a red, blue, and yellow striped pogo-jumper, or a burger from the clown?

You do have an option that' s better than a billion calorie cinnamon roll for lunch - department store cafes and restaurants. I just went shopping, and on the top floor of most Nordstrom stores, there is a small cafe. The service is cafeteria-style, so don't expect ooh-la-la ladies-who-lunch kind of service, but the food choices are much better than the mall's food court. I had a bowl of creamy tomato soup that was garnished with fresh basil, and my shopping companions ordered a mixed berry salad that had surprisingly fresh, plump berries and a steak panini. Of course, Nordstrom's cafe also gives you these chocolate-covered mint sticks that I love.  .

Not all department stores have cafes. In LA, most of the Nordstrom stores do and Barney's of New York in Beverly Hills has Barney Greengrass, which is actually great for brunch on the weekends (and they have matzo ball soup!!!).