A new bakery and cafe in Redding is blowing up on social media, and for good reason.
The Mellow Yellow Cafe, owned by Jewelia and Nicodemus Gilbert of Redding, specializes in gourmet cinnamon rolls, which are so popular that they often sell out before closing time.
Asked to explain Mellow Yellow’s appeal, Jewelia Gilbert said: “Well, we don’t have anything like this in Redding. We don’t have a lot of cinnamon roll options in general, let alone flavored ones.”
Customers have been posting yummy comments online since the shop opened March 26 in its distinctive yellow building at 2190 Westwood Ave. next to Westwood Village in south Redding.
“We tried the lemon poppy seed and German chocolate today and they were fantastic!” one commenter said.
Customers say the cinnamon rolls are sweet, but not overly sweet. Gilbert prefers to use the stronger-tasting Saigon type of cinnamon and makes the cream cheese icing fresh every morning.
“OMG my wife and I came in on Saturday and got four different rolls. It was our first time in and boy they were extremely good,” another post reads. “I haven’t had a cinnamon roll like that since my Grandmother passed 40 years ago. You ladies have a great thing going on.”
Gilbert said she and her staff always offer their classic cinnamon roll with its soft, fluffy dough along with an “addictive” cookie butter roll.
Three other flavors change about every other week. Recent varieties have included a chai sticky bun, S’mores (toasted marshmallow with graham cracker crumbs and a pip of chocolate), peach cobbler, red velvet and fruity pebbles.
Gilbert and her helpers will ask customers if they want their pastries heated up in the microwave, which she strongly recommends.
“I was very adamant to my team. I’m like, ‘Make sure you tell them to warm it up,’” she said. “It just makes it so much better. It gets everything chewy – all gooey. It makes the frosting melt down into the roll. It’s just better.”
Growing demand
Last week Gilbert surprised customers with a limited run of a biscuit-and-gravy roll. Tucked inside was bacon, breakfast sausage, cheddar cheese and cream cheese, topped with hot gravy.
“It was surprisingly good. I put it on Facebook and it got so many views immediately,” she said. “Everybody came and scooped them up. They were gone so fast.”
“OK. I need to know when you make these again,” one person posted.
Four packs of the cinnamon rolls are a top seller at $27. Mornings are the best time to drop by since the rolls often are gone by early afternoon.
“We’ve sold out by noon multiple times,” Gilbert said.
The best advice is to check the cafe’s Facebook page to make sure the rolls are still available.
The cafe keeps regular hours when the rolls sell out because customers still can order drinks, such as coffee and lemonade.
Customers can call ahead to place preorders on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
A mellow start
Mellow Yellow got its start as a lemonade stand in July 2023.
“I was like six or seven months pregnant and it was so hot. I know – it was crazy,” she said.
They first started selling their fresh-smashed, fair-style lemonade from under a canopy before switching to a customized horse trailer that resembles the front end of a Volkswagen bus.
Mellow Yellow makes its lemonade by slicing fresh lemons then uses a press to slightly squish the fruit.
“We use a simple syrup. We mix half sugar, half water and then add the flavoring syrups, and then ice, water and then shake it,” Gilbert said.
They’ll put a pile of sour gummy worms on the lid on request.
The cafe offers a dozen lemonade flavors, including sugar-free using the better-tasting monk fruit as the sweetener.
The Gilberts still tow their trailer to events. They recently went to the Lewiston Peddlers’ Faire where some customers were disappointed they weren’t able to bring any rolls along.
Gilbert explained the business relies on a small oven tucked into a small space.
“We have to have a bigger oven. There’s just no way around that,” she said.
During the week, she’ll typically bake 17 pans of 15 rolls, for 255 total.
“But on the weekends, we make as many as we have pans for and space for in the fridge,” she said.
On a recent Sunday, the crew cranked out 360 made-from-scratch rolls and they all went out the door.
“Since we’ve opened, we haven’t had a Saturday or Sunday that we didn’t sell out,” Gilbert said. “We’ve sold out before noon multiple times.”
On those occasions when there’s leftovers, Gilbert will sell them as “Yesterday’s Yummies” at a discount for $5.
The drinks menu includes coffee, Redbull, cocoa, chocolate milk and chai lattes. They use a local roaster for their coffee beans and have sugar-free syrup options for espresso, lattes and mochas.
Flooding setback
The cafe got off to a rough start before it was able to open its doors. The devasting pre-Christmas flood in south Redding damaged the building during the initial construction.
“We signed the lease on this building in December and like in a week or so … the flood happened,” Gilbert said. “Thank goodness we weren’t open yet.”
They had volunteer help to make repairs and re-paint, including her uncle who fixed her floors for free.
“The walls got ruined in a lot of spots, so we had to replace the drywall. I learned how to do drywall,” Gilbert said.
The building’s bright yellow exterior, which includes a drive-thru, gives a hint of the color scheme inside that radiates a ’70s vibe. Gilbert describes the psychedelic style as modern retro.
She painted the walls with a splash of colors, highlighted by 3D drip-style murals she painted free-hand.
“I wanted it to look different than anywhere else in town,” Gilbert said. “I wanted it to feel like an experience when you walk in here. I want it to be impossible for you to not smile when you walk in here.”
She credits her creativity, in part, to her experience as a nail artist.
Gilbert singles out her younger sister, Tory, for creating Mellow Yellow’s whimsical logos.
“My whole family is very artistic,” Gilbert said.
As far as the name Mellow Yellow, Gilbert said her mother, Penny, came up with that idea, a flower-power throwback to the 1960s-era song by Donovan.
Local roots and school sweethearts
Mellow Yellow has become a success story for the husband-and-wife team. Jewelia and Nicodemus, both 28, first met when they were 13-year-old eighth-graders at Mistletoe School.
“This is my hometown and (Nicodemus) has been here since he was 13,” she said.
Nicodemus has a full-time job at Sierra Pacific and when he’s not helping with the business, he’s minding the couple’s two young children, ages 2 and 5.
Gilbert says she’s been baking her whole life and always considered it more of a pastime.
“I have done a lot of custom birthday cakes and cookies,” she said. “I just decided to make a business out of that.”
Customers will have to check Mellow Yellow’s social media or drop by to find out her newest flavor inspirations.
In the future, Gilbert wants to keep growing by possibly opening a second location.
“I feel like the community wants to be really supportive of us and just shows up for us. It’s been just so amazing,” she said.
If you go: Mellow Yellow Cafe
Mike Chapman is a veteran Northern California reporter and photojournalist who retired from the Redding Record Searchlight. His byline also has appeared in the USA TODAY Network, Siskiyou Daily News and the Eureka Times-Standard.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Inside the Redding cafe building a following with its rolls
Reporting by Mike Chapman, Special to the Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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By Mike Chapman, Special to the Record Searchlight | USA TODAY Network
