Interview with Alexander Del Valle, owner
Q: How did you get involved in this business?
A: My fiance and I were looking to open a 24-hour healthy, fast food restaurant in Denver, on 20th and Lincoln streets, but the deal fell through. I was feeling pretty down and wanted to go to Cinnabon at the Cherry Creek Mall, but they were closed. So I went home and decided to make cinnamon rolls for myself, and they turned out really good. I thought they were way better than Cinnabon. About three days later, we bought a food truck to start selling the cinnamon rolls at the Cherry Creek Farmer’s Market and in Stapleton. It caught on really quickly. We did that for several months, then we sold the food truck in September and bought an actual storefront.
Q: What distinguishes you from other businesses in your category?
A: We definitely go the extra mile. We make everything from scratch. I make my own vanilla extract and caramel, and for a while we were making our own powdered sugar from whole organic sugar. We use mainly organic ingredients because they taste better.
Q: What do you like best about your line of work?
A: I like owning my own business that’s under my control. Obviously we’re going to sell cinnamon rolls, but I can change the menu to offer other things whenever I want. I’ve sold quiche, brownies and other things that people were going crazy over. It’s really about having my own executive power and to be flexible enough to make things that people ask for and add it to the menu that day.
Q: What is your business’ biggest challenge?
A: The biggest challenge is the location we’re in. It’s small and it’s kind of hidden behind a Jiffy Lube and a TCF Bank, so you can’t really see us. Visibility is the problem right now. We’re canvassing the area with fliers and relying on word of mouth a lot, but it’s hard to get people to know that we exist right now because of the location and the newness of our business.
Q: Something people might be surprised to learn about you or your business:
A: Cinna Box is going to beat Cinnabon. That’s our goal. We’re going to make and sell healthy, fast food that’s going to beat larger, unhealthy chain restaurants because it’s what we want to do. I learned to cook at Johnson and Wales University and I have my general business degree in a management. My fiance has a degree in biology. We both moved to Colorado when we were very young and grew up in the area.
Profile
Business: Cinna Box
Address: 2145 E. 120th Ave., Northglenn
Hours: 7 a.m.-4 p.m. daily, except Tuesday
Founded: 2015
Contact: 719-330-4857,
Employees: 2
