The sweet-spicy aroma of cinnamon dough, drizzled in cream cheese icing hangs in the air every October at the Ohio Expo Center, home to the All-American Quarter Horse Congress. The promise of warm, melt-in-your-mouth, goey goodness beckons exhibitors, trainers and spectators alike, at all hours of the day from all corners of the 360-acre facility in Columbus.

“Very few pass by The Sweet Shop without stopping,” observes veteran Congress attendee, Sue DePalma, Hendersonville, North Carolina. “The scent of freshly baked cinnamon and pecan rolls is irresistible.”

Even Congress-goers who don’t indulge in the sticky, sweet treat, know The Sweet Shop is the go-to location for freshly brewed coffee.

“It’s convenient and open 24/7. And I’ve known the Johnsons for 20-plus years,” says Eric Hardesty, owner, Excalibur Photography and Advertising.

The iconic concession stand sells a staggering 20,000-plus cinnamon rolls and 36,000-plus cups of coffee at Congress each year.

Considered a staple attraction of the annual show, The Sweet Shop had humble beginnings. A personal invitation to the 1982 Congress launched Barbara and Jim Johnson into their famous cinnamon roll business.

At that time, the family owned three Mr. Donut shops and a car wash in their hometown of Pickerington, Ohio, which were later sold. The couple knew the food service industry and understood that freshness, quality and consistency were crucial to success.

“We knew it had to be a fresh product because no one likes frozen cinnamon rolls,” Barb explains, “I don’t think we heard any complaints that year. Everyone was smiling after eating one,” she reminisces.

The original recipe Jim developed for the rolls was so well received he hasn’t changed it in 33 years.

Then & Now

The beloved baked, not fried, cinnamon roll hasn’t changed in three decades, but a lot at The Sweet Shop has. Multiple flavors of rolls from savory bacon cinnamon to pecan, sweet maple-iced, s’mores and more are now available. Not all varieties are available at every event, some are only offered for sale at select times in the year.

“My favorite is the strawberry cream cheese croissant. Congress is the only time of year they sell them and they are usually gone by 10 a.m.,” says Lainie DeBoer, AQHA Professional Horseman, trainer and judge, Forest Lake, Minnesota. “They melt in your mouth and they are truly magical,” she adds.

Even customers without a sweet tooth can find a tasty snack to satisfy their tastebuds. The menu features 40-50 items, including Italian subs, breakfast burritos, chicken burritos, smoothies and more.

The diverse offerings require careful planning to ensure that whatever event The Sweet Shop pulls into, enough supplies are on board to last the entire event. It’s especially important for events in rural areas where the nearest grocery store is 45 minutes away.

“We take our cinnamon roll dough with us because we can’t just go buy that at a store,” explains Christopher, Barb and Jim’s son, “we also take all our bakery goods, burgers, chicken, etc. because consistency is important.”

The family is well-practiced at predicting the quantity of supplies they’ll need.

“We haven’t had any major catastrophes,” he adds, “it does happen that we run out of things, but that’s not until the end of an event.”

As The Sweet Shop has grown in popularity, the need for additional help has increased. The family relies on six full-time employees throughout the year; however, at Congress, the staff swells to 20 or more temporary employees.

“We have a lot of moms who come in and help for five or six hour shifts,” Barb says, “it helps pay for their child’s fancy show clothes and entry fees.”

Help from the additional staffers and demand from regular customers has allowed the Johnson family to remain open 24/7 during the 25- day long Congress.

“One night in the early 1990s we left my dad at 8 p.m. expecting him to close-up shortly after. When we arrived at 4:30 the next morning to start baking, he was still there serving people,” she reminisces, “that’s when we decided we needed to be open around the clock.”

From Coast to Coast

The Sweet Shop is a family affair. Sons, Nicholas and Christopher, have an active role in the business and are working to expand the company’s presence from coast to coast.

Nicholas manages the West Coast, setting up shop at hunter/jumper shows and Reining By The Bay, both held in Woodside, California. He also arranged for The Sweet Shop to cater the Premier Paint Sires 3-Year-Old Limited Horse, Limited Rider Western Pleasure events in Utah, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Each meal was unique ranging from Italian to Mexican and southern barbecue.

Christopher handles the East Coast, which includes his favorite event, the Mark Harrell Horse Shows series in Venice, Florida.

“I’d rather spend New Year’s in a T-shirt than a coat. I’m a fan of good weather,” he laughs.

In the country’s heartland, the family pulls together to cover the events in Ohio and the Midwest.

Horse shows are the family’s preferred events, but they also set-up at antique shows, car shows, dog shows, cat shows, cattle shows, auctions, concerts and boat and rv shows. Outside the show industry, The Little Brown Jug is a long-standing favorite. The Little Brown Jug, is the premier pacing race for 3-year-old harness horses and is held in Delaware each September.

Stationed trackside, The Sweet Shop staff are close enough to the rail to nearly touch the horses as they zoom past. Spectators stand shoulder-to-shoulder, stop watches in hand, breathlessly waiting to see if their pick will win the race.

“The Little Brown Jug is like a huge party the whole time we are there,” Barb says.

On the family’s wildest weekend of the year 11 Sweet Shop units operate at one time. There are weekends with fewer events, but there’s rarely a time when the family isn’t busy.

“We only get two weekends off a year. It’s usually in December,” Barb says.

And after 30 years, that’s enough to make anyone look forward to retirement. Jim talks of slowing down and possibly retiring at the end of 2015.

“We’ll see if that actually happens,” Barb says.

All About The Horses

Inspired by the Johnson’s love of horses, The Sweet Shop is deeply rooted in the horse industry. The family first owned Thoroughbreds and owns Quarter Horses. All three children, Nicholas, Christopher and Jessica grew up riding and showing.

“There were a lot of shows we hauled the concession trailer and the horse trailer to an event,” Barb reminisces.

Mesmerized by horse show world, Jessica stuck with the horses rather than the sweet rolls. Raised in the all-around events, Jessica was an accomplished youth rider and today shares her expertise with clients through her training operation, Sweet Shop Performance Horses also based in Pickerington, Ohio.

“She can make a cinnamon roll if needed,” Barb notes, “this year’s Youth World Show was really stressful for Jessica, but she believes in working hard and taking care of her customers and providing good care for her horses. That makes her dad and I very happy.”

Through showing horses and feeding the folks who showed alongside them, the Johnson family has witnessed many changes in the breed show industry over the last 30 years.

“The leveling system was a big change for everybody. I think everyone is still trying to figure it out,” Barb says.

She has also observed a noticeable change in the way horses move in the show pen.

“The horses all seem to be moving freer and more forward, even in western pleasure. It’s nice to see,” she adds, “I also don’t see as much jerking and pulling as I used to. Riders are actually riding and communicating better with their horses.”

From every level of competition, local 4-H events to the highest level of breed shows, Barbara believes horse owners in general are providing better overall care for their horses.

“Nutrition is so much better. I know I do a lot more for my horses now than I did 30 years ago,” she says.

Love for the horse prompted the family to develop their own line of horse treats. Called Sweet Nays, the treat is the Johnson family’s twist on traditional horse treats.

“Our love of horses and food got us thinking about creating the same great tasting treats for our equine friends,” Chris says.

Starting with an oven, a mixing bowl and quality ingredients, the family began experimenting ways to create the perfect sweet roll flavored treat for horses. The treats are even festive—periodically decorated with pumpkin candies for Halloween, hearts on Valentine ’s Day and other seasonal toppings throughout the year.

“The response has been really good because it’s a soft treat rather than a hard treat like traditional store bought treats are,” Chris explains.

Supporting the events that have supported the family throughout the years is important to the Johnson family. Catering the Premier Paint Sires events this year is just one example.

“We help out any way we can at horse shows,” Christopher said, “we do a lot of catering to help out or we sponsor it if we are unable to cater it.”

Given the opportunity, they also get involved in charity events. At the 2009 Reichert Celebration they teamed up the Reichert family for The Rock N Roll Fundraiser designed to benefit the Reichert Equine Foundation Scholarship Fund. Tickets for 500 sweet rolls were sold during the Ron Reichert Memorial Novice Horse 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure class.

Each roll sold for $10 and gave the purchaser a chance at winning a $3,000, 14-karat white gold custom buckle ring with three karats of yellow sapphires. The ring was baked into one roll.

“The rolls were half the size of our regular rolls. We baked all night long to prepare them for the event,” Barbara recounts.

At the end of the class, all who purchased a ticket came into the arena at once to pick up their roll. Upon returning to their seat everyone opened the roll and ate it to find the “winner.” The fundraiser went over so well, it was repeated again in 2014.

Aside from helping show staff host a memorable event or offering exhibitors a warm meal or sweet treat, the Johnson family knows how thankful trainers, exhibitors and riders are to have a place to go during stressful competitions.

“Sometimes people need to get their nerves ironed out or they’ve been up all night,”Barb says. “It’s nice to give them a hot item and let them relax.”

New at the 2015 Congress

The All-American Quarter Horse Congress kicks off Oct. 1 and runs through Oct. 25. Look for The Sweet Shop at one of three locations.

• The “usual” location between Congress Hall and the main entrance to the Celeste Arena
• Next to the Gilligan Building
• Beside the newly built stall barn

Don’t miss the newest item on the menu.

“This year we’re going to be selling a deep-fried strawberry cream cheese roll with ice cream and strawberry syrup,” Chris says.