In its second deal announced this month, Craveworthy Brands acquired Kinnamōns, the gourmet cinnamon roll concept founded by NFL great and entrepreneur Ndamukong Suh. As part of the transaction, Suh joins Craveworthy as a shareholder and advisory board member.
Craveworthy Brands CEO Gregg Majewski joked that he assumed Ndamukong Suh would be the biggest jerk in the world.
Suh, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle who spent his first five NFL seasons with the Detroit Lions before going on to play for the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles, “always killed” Majewski’s Chicago Bears.
Gregg Majewski is CEO of Craveworthy Brands, which he formed in 2023.
“I hated him as a player,” laughed Majewski, but after Suh picked him up at the airport in Portland, Oregon, last year, that mindset quickly shifted. “I got in the car and he was the nicest human being I have ever met. He took me around to his restaurants, I looked at the different brands and we hit it off.”
It was a shared connection to finance firm Fundamental Global that led Majewski to consult on Suh’s restaurant portfolio in early 2024. One of Suh’s concepts, gourmet cinnamon roll brand Kinnamōns, made such an impression that Majewski knew it could be an ideal addition to the snacks and treats division he wanted to create at Craveworthy.
Craveworthy, a multi-restaurant platform company that bought several brands since its formation in 2023, acquired Kinnamōns in a deal announced today. As part of the purchase, Suh becomes a shareholder in the Chicago-based company and joins its advisory board.
It’s the second deal this month for Craveworthy, which last week invested in Shaquille O’Neal’s fast-casual concept, Big Chicken.
“I’ve gotten to know Gregg and his team at Craveworthy over the past few years and I really admire everything they’re doing across the portfolio to bring brands to the next level,” said Suh. “Cinnamon rolls and the artistry behind Kinnamōns holds a special place in my heart, so when my team and I decided it was time to take the brand to the next level and let people outside of Portland enjoy what we’ve created, I knew it had to be with Gregg and his team.”
Suh, who won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021, got involved in restaurants more than 15 years ago when he invested in Blue Sushi Sake Grill and helped it expand in Nebraska. (He played his college ball at the University of Nebraska.) He’s also the co-founder of Bae’s Fried Chicken in Portland, and in 2022 created Kinnamōns, which has two locations in that city.
“The hospitality industry has always been a core component of my investment portfolio. Growing up with a Jamaican mom and a Cameroonian-born dad, meals were a cherished time in my childhood, and continue to be for my family,” said Suh. “Building out hospitality concepts aren’t just about the food, but the community they create and Craveworthy shares that same passion for community building.”
Majewski said he was “blown away by the volume” the Kinnamōns stores were doing. They weren’t using Suh’s name in advertising or otherwise trying to play up the celebrity factor, he added. “The food is just good.”
Cinnamon rolls are baked fresh daily and the menu features indulgent flavors such as caramel apple pie, maple bacon and peanut butter chocolate pretzel. Stores also serve espresso and flavored coffees.
Majewski plans to launch a franchise program for Kinnamōns in the next eight to 12 months and sees the brand as a good fit for Craveworthy’s new division alongside cookie concept Dirty Dough, which it bought in early 2024.
“This is a higher-end product that goes into an indulgence. With Dirty Dough, you can have the dirty sodas, the ice creams and we’re trying to create a weekly experience,” he said. “Kinnamōns is not a weekly experience. It is an indulgence, a once-a-month customer that you have to win by being the best that’s out there. And there is a niche for that. And his stores have proven that people come and the sales volume has been impressive.”
Suh, noted Majewski, wants to prove himself off the field as much as he did on it, which makes him a strong business partner.
“He has the same sort of chip on the shoulder that I do. That you want to prove the doubters wrong, that you can do this at the higher level and not just because you’re a famous football player or that you did Jimmy John’s in the past,” said Majewski, who left Jimmy John’s back in 2003 after five years in C-suite roles including as CEO. “We both wanted to go and prove the fact that we can do this outside of where we were and what we were in our prior lives.”
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that Ndamukong Suh did not roll his equity in Kinnamons into Craveworthy.
