Photo courtesy of Katie Cornutt.
Katie Cornutt, left, is a longtime friend of Shelli Morrow, right — so it made sense for her to start selling her homemade cinnamon rolls out of Morrow’s downtown shop, The Cottage Basket.
After selling cinnamon rolls exclusively online for the past year, Katie Cornutt is taking her Rolls Homewood business to a brick-and-mortar location.
Cornutt announced in a Feb. 27 Instagram post that she would begin selling frozen pans of her homemade cinnamon rolls at The Cottage Basket, a gift shop in downtown Homewood. The owner of The Cottage Basket, Shelli Morrow, is a friend of Cornutt — their sons are in the same grade at Edgewood Elementary — and they both have children with special needs.
“It helps her, too,” Cornutt said. “It’s one of those things where people that are coming in for cinnamon rolls are more than likely going to buy something from her, too. So it’s a win-win for both of us.”
Cornutt also hosts pop-ups — typically about once a month, she said — where Cornutt will be at The Cottage Basket selling both frozen and baked pans of cinnamon rolls.
Customers who order rolls online sometimes have to plan a month in advance because Cornutt’s calendar is so full. Those who purchase frozen pans at The Cottage Basket will have the advantage of being able to buy rolls on a whim.
“You don’t have to have any forethought in it,” she said. “You can just go and pick up rolls for the weekend, which is what a lot of people do.”
Still, online sales versus sales at The Cottage Basket are about half-and-half, Cornutt said. Many people enjoy planning ahead, whether it be for an Easter celebration, birthday party and more.
It’s been good to see her business grow, and it’s been both rewarding and humbling, Cornutt said.
“The support of local businesses in our community is overwhelming,” she said. “I feel like word of mouth is a huge portion of that.”
Rolls Homewood was unable to sell at The Cottage Basket during the COVID-19 pandemic as of press time, but has resumed the service as of May 4. Customers can now also order online and ship to their house at rolls-homewood.myshopify.com.
