Coffee and Cinnamon Rolls : The Sweetest Combo
Walking in through the door of Sweet Roast Café, you are instantly taken away from small town LaGrange, GA, and into a hidden metropolitan gem. The overwhelming smells of cinnamon rolls, caramel, and freshly roasted coffee beans instantly engulf you in a hug. You know you’re in the right place for coffee and something sweet.
Sweet Roast Café opened April 17th, 2021, and with it being just over five months old, this coffee shop is just what downtown LaGrange needed. Situated on Bull Street, across the street from Solomon’s Department Store and next to The Chamber of Commerce, Sweet Roast is open seven days a week. The downtown café offers anything from coffee to chicken salad to cinnamon rolls to a glass of wine. They have become known for their delicious cinnamon rolls and at-home roasted coffee beans. Co-owner and baker Karen Scobee is the mastermind behind everything that comes out of the kitchen, and co-owners Alex and Jessica Brown are the geniuses responsible all things coffee-related. It has always been the Browns’ dream to own a coffee shop, and after they approached Karen to handle all things sweet-treats, it couldn’t have been a better match.
“When Alex first pitched this idea of co-owning a coffee shop, he asked, ‘What goes better together than coffee and cinnamon rolls?’ And he had this grin on his face. I knew things were about to get crazy. Since then, it was a match made in heaven. The Browns have become family. And I love it.”
Born in D.C. and raised in Raleigh, proud mom of five and wife to Scott, Karen Scobee has done a little bit of everything in her life. Her vibrant personality is just as colorful as her bright purple hair and intricately designed tattoos. Her personality lights up the kitchen at Sweet Roast, and she always has something fun baking up her sleeve. You can’t help but feel her energy when you’re around her. Cooking, and especially baking, has always been her happy place.
Photo credit : Será Será Photo & Design
“Baking is what feels like home to me. Growing up, my mom and I loved cooking together. So it’s nice to continue with the tradition. I hope that one of my own will take after me and follow in my footsteps. Even when I bake and cook now, I can feel her around me, fussing when I add too much of this or too little of this.”
Sitting and talking alongside Karen while she bakes cinnamon rolls, you can see her pride gleam and smile turn up when she talks about her mom. The two were incredibly close, and it was Karen’s mom who brought her to Georgia.
Karen is a woman of many talents and many careers; some might say a jack of all trades. She has done a little bit of everything and dabbled in the worlds of cosmetology, concierge services, Publix supermarkets, welding, and now, restaurants.
“I started out as a hairdresser, had my own booth, and then ran the salon. But I knew that wasn’t it for me. Mom was moving to South Carolina, and I wanted to go with her. So I did and ended up working for her concierge business. We stuck around with that for a few years, but my step-dad worked for the railroad, and a position opened up in Union City outside of Atlanta. They moved down here, and I still wanted to be with her, so I followed them down. I ended up in Douglasville working for Publix as a manager for the produce section. The job had the best pay, and I really enjoyed working for Publix. It was fun, but the hours were pretty hard. I hardly saw my kids, and it got to the point where I was missing out in their lives. So things changed again. ”
Karen’s next career move shifted to welding, something that always had piqued her interest. Still living in Douglasville, Karen went to West Georgia Technical School for welding, and shortly after, began working for Caterpillar. Caterpillar introduced her to her husband, Scott, and Scott is the lucky man that brought Karen to LaGrange.
“He was my mentor and just the cutest thing. I adored him then and still do now.”
Karen worked in welding for a handful of years, but sadly Covid brought that to an end. However, during quarantine in Spring of 2020, while everyone was stuck at home and isolated from restaurants, Karen cooked up her own business called “Dinner in a Dash,” her own personalized catering service. “Dinner in a Dash” was a Facebook Group, and people from all over the community joined to buy Karen’s meals. Every morning, Karen posted a menu of different meals for the day, and people ordered them online through Facebook.
“My kitchen constantly looked like a bomb had gone off, but I loved it. It was a lot of fun always cooking and making meals for other people. Dinner in a Dash eventually morphed into ‘Cinnamon Rolls and Such’, and I became known as the ‘Cinnamon Rolls and Such Lady.’”
Karen’s self-owned Facebook business is how she came to know the Browns. After connecting through a regular customer of Karen’s, Jessica ordered a smash cake for their youngest daughter, Emma, and once they tasted the cake, they knew they wanted to work with her.
“I deliver this cake to Jessica, and afterward, I get these pictures of Alex devouring the cake. The same Alex who Jessica told me is not much of a sweets guy. Not long after that is when Alex mentions partnering for Sweet Roast. And I guess you could say the rest is history.”
Months later, here I am, sitting at a table in Sweet Roast Café. The brainchild that Sweet Roast has become is a dream come true to our downtown community. The magic combination of cinnamon rolls and coffee that Karen and the Browns bring has become part of LaGrange’s culture, a culture that very much prides itself on community and being social. Sweet Roast is more than a coffee shop; it’s a gathering place and a hub for people to come together, laugh, and enjoy something sweet. When asked what her hopes are for Sweet Roast, Karen wants it “to last until I die, and then my kids take over. I want them to have the blessings and happiness that this place gives me everyday.” And selfishly, I want them to be here that long too.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of stopping in at Sweet Roast, you should. Stop for a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll. If Karen is in the back, you’ll see her smiling face through the window, and be sure to tell her that I sent you. I promise you won’t regret it.
Photo credit : Será Será Photo & Design