Maya Gwynn
With KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, a show where we learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is Louis Hohl, Founder and Owner of Sweet Dough Cinna-Rolls in Norco, Horsetown USA. Thank you so much for being here.
Louis Hohl
Oh, thank you so much for having me.
Maya Gwynn
I love cinnamon rolls. So this was easy. So let’s start at the beginning. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your company and what motivated you to want to start a business? Because I believe you started during COVID, correct?
Louis Hohl
Well, our pivot happened in COVID. We actually started before COVID. The inspiration to start actually came from my first job. I was a private client banker at Chase. So dealt with a lot of high net individuals, and I would interview them, and I build relationships with them, and they would legit look at my body language. And one of them came to me and said, hey, when you talk about baking, cooking and more of what you're passionate about, your body language explodes. And I said, Well, what does that mean? And they're like, what we think there's something there. When a millionaire tells you that you should go with your passion, maybe, maybe I should listen to that. So went home, talked to my wife about it. She gave me her blessing, and that's really all I needed, was her blessing to do it. And we hit the road running. I would wake up at three in the morning, still working for the bank. And we did a lot of pop ups and farmers markets. So that's, that's typically how it's that's how it started. But I've been baking for years prior to that.
Maya Gwynn
And then in COVID, you said you pivoted how?
Louis Hohl
Yes. So we actually had a store set up in Victoria Gardens. We’re doing pretty good, but for some reason, just the traffic slowed. We were in a poor location. Then COVID came, and so we closed the store down. And so everyone, all of our customers, thought we were going to close forever. We got over 300 messages on Instagram. We did a farewell post. And I mean, you could just keep scrolling and people were like, we'll come to your house. So can't do that. So I recorded a video saying farewell, and someone said, Would you deliver to my house? I say, Yeah, I can do that. And I developed a system. And I'm not a coder at all. I'm a baker, not an electronics dude. But for some reason I said, you know what? I need to develop something and get all these orders. So orders would pile up on Instagram. I developed a route, a system and an order form that all spoke with each other, so people would place an order. It'd automatically go to a router, and I would have a route made. And so, yeah, I'm like, wow, this is working. So we pivoted during COVID. We actually ended up making more during COVID than we did when we had a store. And that was the beginning of the new Sweet Dough, from that point on.
Maya Gwynn
That's awesome. What do you think sets your company apart from other dessert spots in our area and beyond?
Louis Hohl
I would say we're very niche. We just focus on cinnamon rolls. We have over 100 different flavors. And so what we do is we like to bring other desserts in on the cinnamon roll. So people are like, well, you know, you don't have cookies, no, but we have a chocolate chip cookie cinnamon roll. You know, you guys don't have any pies, no, but we have an apple pie, caramel apple pie cinnamon roll, or a peach cobbler cinnamon roll, stuff like that. So I think what sets us apart is that we have a massive variety of handmade cinnamon rolls that we make everything from scratch, the caramel, the dough, the frosting, everything. So I think the passion, the fact that we make everything from scratch, the fact that you can, you can't really go and find a chocolate chip cookie cinnamon roll anywhere, but you can find it at Sweet Dough.
Maya Gwynn
How do you stay creative and innovative with your menu while remaining true to your brand? You said you have over 100 flavors and rotate monthly?
Louis Hohl
Yes. Well, my family, they're my test kitchen. So I'll go home, my two oldest sons, Ty and Levi, very creative. They're whizzes in the kitchen, just like me. I had to train them, right? So they cook. We bounce ideas back and forth. My wife, she's amazing with that. Shout out to Lakeisha – SNL Foster Family Agency. But she is, you know, she's my rock, so I bounce everything off of her. Bounce it off my children. My children like it. I know we're onto something. And my two girls are very, very, very honest, and it's a good and a bad thing, but they'll tell me straight up, Hey, Dad, this is garbage. It's too much going on on this. Or this is amazing that we love it.
Maya Gwynn
And you kind of already answered this question, but we can expand on it. How has the community responded to your business and what role does local support play in growth and how do you see it playing in the future?
Louis Hohl
Wow, I think that local support is paramount. I mean, it's crucial. The fact that we're in a store right now is because of a local partnership. So shout out to Deep Barrel Coffee and Ice Cream in Norco, an amazing man and amazing family who took us in, who found us at a farmer's market. We're forever indebted to them. They're an amazing, amazing, amazing family, but they're the owners of a coffee shop that we set up in so, yeah, I mean, you have to build relationships. You have to speak with people. You have to get out and meet your community and find out what their you know, what their needs are, and serve them directly.
Maya Gwynn
That's awesome. All right, so we're gonna move to our rapid fire portion. If your work had a theme song, what would it be?
Louis Hohl
I do music on the side. There's only one I can think of, is Trust You. Deals with trusting God. It's a song me and my family made. And the other one is Area Codes. But instead of the bad word put in rolls, I've got rolls in different area codes.
Maya Gwynn
That's a good one. Besides making cinnamon rolls, if you had to teach a master class to give a TED Talk on a skill you have, what would it be?
Louis Hohl
Music- I write. I compose. I make beats, all of that. So that's a passion of mine.
Maya Gwynn
And what is your favorite, besides your own, IE restaurant or a landmark that reminds you of the Inland Empire?
Louis Hohl
It's a chicken and waffles joint that was in Upland that moved, I believe, I think they moved to San Bernardino. Waffle House.
Maya Gwynn
And how can people keep up with you and support your business?
Louis Hohl
Ooh, you can go to our website. It's www.sweetdoughcinnarolls.com or www.sweetdoughcafe.com. You can find us on Instagram at Sweet Dough Cafe, or you can hit us up, 818-851- ROLL. Our store’s in Norco, 1188 Sixth St, Norco, California, inside of Deep Barrel Coffee and Ice Cream.
Maya Gwynn
And besides Norco, where else can people find the cinnamon rolls you guys have?
Louis Hohl
All right, so we deliver to delivery partners in Los Angeles and Orange County. So if you go to Uber Eats, DoorDash, there're hubs that are set up throughout LA and OC so all you gotta do is go to DoorDash, Uber Eats, or GrubHub, look for Sweet Dough Cinna-Rolls, and you'll find us if you're in those different counties. Delivered right to your home or business.
Maya Gwynn
Awesome. Thank you so much for being here today.
Louis Hohl
Of course, thank you for having me. Appreciate it.
Maya Gwynn
Louis Hohl is Founder and Owner of Sweet Dough Cinna-Rolls. Find the segment and others at kvcrnews.org/bpie. Support for this segment comes from the Black Equity Fund at IECF, advancing racial equity and supporting long term investments in black led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn, thank you
