Hey! I’m James.

I’m the (only) baker and Chief Roll Officer behind The Roll Model Bakehouse.

I’ve always had a serious sweet tooth, and I firmly believe pastries are a highly underrated form of therapy. I’ve loved baking and creating ever since I was a kid, but it wasn’t until my mid-30s that I rediscovered just how cathartic it could be and how much creativity it sparked in me.

The Roll Model was born after I had the worst cinnamon roll of my life. Seriously. It ruined my entire day. I won’t name names, but it was drier than the Sahara, and the tiny pea-sized dollop of icing tasted like melted plastic. From that moment on, I made it my mission to create a cinnamon roll that set a new gold standard, one that could live far beyond the baby-blue logo you see at the shopping mall or airport food court.

Today, The Roll Model is a small-batch cottage bakehouse based in the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. My goal is simple: bring ridiculously good cinnamon rolls to people so they never have to suffer through the kind of traumatic cinnamon roll experience that started all of this.

But I don't just stop at the classics.

One of my favorite parts of baking is taking nostalgic flavors and reimagining them in roll form. Remember your first bowl of Frosted Flakes? Yeah, me too. That's the feeling I'm chasing. Whether it's childhood treats, seasonal favorites, or unexpected flavor combinations, I love turning familiar memories into something fresh, fun, and hopefully unforgettable.

At the end of the day, my mission is simple: make insanely good cinnamon rolls, support my local community, and create moments worth looking back on.

Thanks for stopping by!

Preorders for pickup are live now!