Customers visiting the Cinnaholic Bakery in Gaitherburg’s Crown Park Shopping Center can count on a warm and welcoming atmosphere as they eye the store’s handcrafted rolls and desserts. Cinnaholic sells delicious cinnamon buns that are not only 100 percent vegan but are dairy and lactose-free, egg-free, and even cholesterol-free. Its bakeries also carry cookies, brownies, and coffee. What started as a niche bakery in Berkley, California has grown into a franchise with 100 outlets in the United States and Canada.
Bill Clinton and Tawan Patrick met while students at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and remained friends through the years. They eventually decided to go into business together and bought the Cinnaholic Gaithersburg store in 2023. They inherited the bakery’s staff from the previous owner and make it their mission to treat them as family. Many are still in high school and Bill and Tawan believe in helping them navigate the challenges of finishing school, which they insist on. Bill helps students not only with math (he says his proudest moment was when a student he was helping earned a B in a trigonometry class) but with critical thinking, and even investing skills.
According to Tawan, “We just peel off those stressful challenges of life.” She has helped a young mother find quality childcare, assisted a worker who needed a state-issued ID, and even offered to pay for a staffer’s GED.
Bill and Tawan’s involvement in the community is wide-ranging, whether promoting local PTSAs, sponsoring school plays, assisting with a local cotillion, supporting a Jewish youth fraternity, backing a golf tournament, volunteering for a church event, or even hosting a meeting of the Gaithersburg Chamber of Commerce. The dynamic duo proves it’s possible to run a busy and successful business while giving back to individuals, schools, and countless other local community organizations.