In the heart of South Florida on SW Eighth Street, there’s a cozy little bakery filled with the smell of freshly brewed coffee that serves the most unique and delicious cinnamon rolls.
How good are they? Ask Day, a self-proclaimed “sweets girl” from Central Florida who first tried a pastry from Rolled when she was visiting Miami for a New Year’s Party in 2022. She enjoyed it so much that she tracked down the creator on Instagram and headed to the storefront on her next trip to Miami.
“I’m from Tampa so we don’t have a lot of stuff like this, so when I come down to Miami I go… here,” she said, munching on a cinnamon roll, “They’re so good.”
Rolled is the sister company of Night Owl Cookies, the sensation just down the street that revolutionized the way students eat sweets in this part of the world. The two places, located west of SW 107th Avenue across the street from Florida International University’s campus, are the center of a sweets empire that entrepreneur Andrew Gonzalez created.
Gonzalez has always had a passion for sweets and preferred deserts over any part of the meal. He founded Night Owl Cookies in 2012, when he was 20 years old, an idea that originated in his mother’s kitchen while he was a student at Miami Dade College.
Gonzalez described himself during that time to Kevin Ozebek in a WSVN interview in December of 2020 as “a lost college student,” stating “I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, [but] when you don’t give up and you have this dream and you reach for it, you can make it happen.”
His company began as a late-night cookie delivery service on Instagram that delivered until 2 a.m. every night.
“The only time I had to bake cookies was nighttime, so Night Owl Cookies came to be,” Gonzalez told WSVN.
He was responsible for taking orders and making deliveries. It was a one-man show. His first big break was when he was featured on WSVN’s “Deco Drive” in 2013. That put his company on the map and helped the business begin to blow up.
His first brick-and-mortar for Night Owl Cookies opened on Coral Way in 2016. It became a full-on cookie operation, not just the late-night delivery service that it used to be. They were known for satisfying people’s sweet tooths with some very uncommon yet mouthwatering flavors.
He began to receive nationwide recognition making Forbes’s esteemed 30 under 30 list in 2017, and winning Forbes’s “Top Young Chefs In America” competition two years in a row. Gonzalez won for the first time in 2017 with the Ave Maria cookie topped with cookie crumbles, guava paste, and cream cheese frosting. He defended his title the following year in 2018 with the Plantain Papi which has a plantain-infused cookie dough mix stuffed with a slice of platano maduro and Nutella.
“I brought home the award with the Ave Maria cookie. In 2018, I brought home the award with the Plantain Papi,” he told WSVN in an interview in 2018.
Now making around 2,000 cookies a day and earning $1.5 million in annual sales, Gonzalez decided to upgrade to a bigger location in 2018 across FIU’s campus. This new location became the nation’s largest cookie shop. Night Owl Cookies has been such a hit that they now have a total of five locations across Miami Dade and Broward County in FIU, Wynwood, Miami Design District, North Miami Beach, and Pembroke Pines.
Night Owl offers incredibly creative cookies like the Cinnamon Toast Crunch ($3.79), a cookie with cinnamon sugar-infused dough, topped with icing and crumbled Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal bits, or their best-seller, the dirty diana ($3.84) which is stuffed with Nutella.
As of now, they offer a total of 11 cookies including the two mentioned above. The others are the birthday cake ($3.84), brookie ($3.79), chocolate chip ($3.49), award-winning Ave Maria ($3.79), cookies & creme ($3.84), rainbow over bedrock ($3.79), red velvet ($3.84), sugar daddy ($3.74), and vegan chocolate chip ($3.84).
Night Owl Cookies offers nationwide delivery in bundles of 6, 12, 18, or 24. They also deliver locally in South Florida and allow for dine-in or in-store pick-up in all five locations.
“I think it’s really important to thank Miami and everybody who has supported my dream,” he told Miami New Times in 2017. “I could work as hard as I can to bring a great product to the table, but without them, I would get nowhere.”
After nearly 10 years in the business, Gonzalez wanted to create a more mature brand that represents where he is now as a person. He hoped to build the complete opposite of a nighttime cookie spot, so he came up with the idea for an artisanal roll and coffee bar named Rolled.
After a few months of getting everything perfect during their soft opening in October of 2022, Rolled officially opened its door to the public on Saturday, March 18. The bakery has been open daily, and they have recently extended their hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. as of April 3rd.
“Miami already has staple areas where you get cinnamon rolls; however, they never adapted or evolved with the times,” he told Eater Miami in October 2022. “We have rolls that have never been done before that represent the flavors of our community and generation.”
Rolled makes its cinnamon rolls sweet but not simple. The store brings extravagant concepts to desserts that have never been seen. With creative rolls from the Bacon Scotch, which is covered in a scotch-infused caramel glaze and candied bacon – to the Cafecito with chocolate-covered espresso beans, Gonzalez’s sweet dreams have become reality.
Their best-seller is the OG Sticky which is a classic roll made from their signature dough infused with cinnamon filling and covered in a caramel glaze. The Cookies & Creme is their next best-seller made with an Oreo filling and milk glaze.
(Zeth Leon/SFMN)
In total, the menu is made up of seven specialty rolls including the OG Sticky and the Cookies & Creme. The five other rolls consist of the: Night Owl, Chocolate Hazelnut, Funfetti Cake, Bacon Scotch, and Cafecito. Each roll is $4.99 except for the OG Sticky which is $4.50. They also serve a variety of coffees and tea by “Per’la,” a local roasting company.
Eating in-store is always an option but they also offer delivery through DoorDash and UberEats as well as in-store pick-up. Additionally, they provide catering services.
Rolled has been posted all over social media which has helped their official Instagram account reach over 17,000 followers.
Phil, a returning customer, actually discovered the restaurant through the app after seeing a video of someone reviewing the place.
“I started with the Oreo, but when I came here with my friend’s son we ordered the Funfetti and it was really good,” Phil said. The Funfetti is now his favorite and his go-to every time he returns.
So far the public has been raving about Rolled and seems to be embracing the new desert spot as it’s rapidly becoming a local treasure. Gonzalez has already built himself quite the sweets empire. If Rolled becomes his next smashing success, then he can be crowned the king of desserts.
Rolled may have the potential to reach the same level as its sister company one day. It has already won over some fans as Day claims she prefers it over Night Owl.
“The Night Owl cookies are too much and these are easier to eat,” she said.
Phil favors Rolled as well, choosing it over Night Owl without any hesitation.
“Night Owl pleases the eyes more than your taste,” he states, and “Rolled overall is just really good.”
