As you’re getting closer to Old West Cinnamon Rolls , you won’t need signs to tell you that you’re approaching the most popular — and arguably most delicious — bakery for miles around. Your nose will let you know, when you start smelling the unmistakable scent of cinnamon and sugar, elevated into another stratosphere on top of the yeasty aroma of baking bread, when you’re still blocks away.
The line out the door is another good indicator that you’re in for something special. The bakery’s name tells you what it makes — and it’s been making that thing exceptionally well for more than 40 years. People drive hundreds of miles to get their hands on one of those cinnamon rolls. (But if you leave with only one, you’re doing it wrong.)
Once you get inside the Pismo Beach establishment on the Central Coast , there’s an open kitchen where employees are churning out pastries by the hundreds. Nearby, there are rows and rows of mugs, shirts and bags of prepared mix. Cinnamon is in the air all around you — not just the scent, but the actual spice. “Don’t mind the dust,” a sign on the souvenir shirt display reads, “it’s just more cinnamon!”
When it’s your turn to order, you’ve got some tough choices to make. Yes, the bakery menu board is all about cinnamon rolls (although its website has a small section of special orders such as carrot cake). But as you watch each confection being prepared to order with custom toppings, the possibilities are endless…