Fun fact: Selling homemade cinnamon rolls was not Hele Rolls’ first product.
While the business is currently known for its warm, fluffy rolls, Jasmine “Jaz” Milam, who co-owns Hele Rolls with Brittany “Kawai” Lopez, remembers she started out with doughnuts.
“It was doughnuts to begin with; I’m no good at doughnuts and I already knew that, but I think she (Lopez) really likes doughnuts,” Milam says. “After a couple weeks, I was like, doughnuts are not working.”
Milam, who always loved baking, remembers making homemade cinnamon rolls regularly when she was deployed.
“I was making homemade cinnamon rolls every Sunday to share with my fellow service members,” she says. “It became a tradition that brought everyone together, and seeing how something as simple as a warm cinnamon roll could create that sense of comfort and connection has always stayed with me.”
Milam suggested featuring cinnamon rolls for Hele Rolls’ main product and, long story short, they quickly became a hit.
“Cinnamon rolls felt like the perfect fit,” she says. “They’re nostalgic, comforting, and have a way of bringing people together, which is exactly what we hope every customer experiences when they enjoy one of our rolls.”
Hele Rolls officially launched last June, shortly after Milam’s father died. The business was created as a way to honor his legacy and the values he believed in, especially the idea of food having the power to bring people together.
The business’s name pays tribute to Hele Nui, the food truck Milam’s father previously operated.
“Everyone says it (the business name) should be Jaz’s cinnamon rolls, and I didn’t want my name on it,” Milam says. “All of a sudden, it came to me — his food truck’s name was Hele Nui, so what about Hele Rolls? It’s using his name, but kind of paving my own path, carrying his legacy forward.
“Now, I tell everybody, this started off as a side hustle, but it’s turned into so much more,” she adds. “I have a legacy that I’m trying to continue with my dad. It’s more than just making cinnamon rolls for some extra cash; it’s making him, my family and my community proud.”
The family-operated business accepts pre-orders and pops up at various events across Oʻahu, such as the Taste of Aloha Night Market at NEX and What the Truck?! in Waikele. The business’s first What the Truck?! market was recent, and Hele Rolls sold out of its cinnamon rolls in 45 minutes, according to Milam.
“I had about 220 to 240 rolls at What the Truck?!,” she says. “Taste of Aloha was the most I’ve done at a market; it was a little more than 300.”
All cinnamon rolls are handmade in small batches, according to Milam, who says the business focuses on creating that soft, fluffy texture and homemade frostings.
While the business’s original cinnamon roll continues to be a bestseller, it also offers specialty flavors which change every month, according to Milam. Previous specialty flavors include strawberry shortcake, chocolate haupia, ube and Oreo. In July, the business featured Oreo and lemon blueberry cinnamon rolls.
“We love keeping our menu fresh with rotating flavors inspired by Hawaiʻi, classic desserts and seasonal favorites,” Milam says. “One of our favorite things is challenging people’s expectations of what a cinnamon roll can be. They can be familiar, nostalgic and comforting — or completely unexpected.
“Lemon blueberry had our housemade blueberry compote, our icing, homemade whipped cream, fresh blueberries, lemon zest and blueberry shortcake, which is like cookies with freeze-dried blueberries,” she adds. “The Oreo one was like a cookies and cream. Our menu rotates regularly, so there’s always something new to discover. We put a lot of heart into everything we make.”
At markets, customers can buy individual cinnamon rolls or get sample packs, which include two original rolls and two specialty flavors. If customers pre-order, only packs are available. At markets, original cinnamon rolls cost $6 each; specialty flavors cost $8 each.
When asked about her favorite cinnamon roll flavors, Milam says she likes her kūlolo one — “I still need to perfect it a little bit more” — and also recommends the haupia flavor, which features original icing, toasted macadamia nuts and coconut shavings.
Besides pop-up events and accepting pre-orders, the biz also offers catering for private parties, corporate events and celebrations. Customers can opt for the full-sized cinnamon rolls or the business’s Cinni-Maninis, or bite-sized cinnamon rolls.
Hele Rolls wasn’t even a year old when the biz was asked to participate in Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race.”
“One day, we were making cinnamon rolls; I was in the kitchen, and Kawai yelled my name,” Milam remembers. “It wasn’t a panic yell; it was more of an excited yell. I came to her, and she said, ‘Look at this.’ It was a casting agent who reached out to us through Instagram. Obviously, like everyone else, we thought it was Spam.”
“We thought it was Spam for sure, but we were like, ‘Who knows, let’s just take a chance,’” Lopez says.
Hele Rolls responded to the message, the agent got back to them, and from there, “it just snowballed,” according to Milam.
That was earlier this spring; Hele Rolls left to compete on “The Great Food Truck Race” in April. Hosted by Tyler Florence, this season follows eight food truck teams from across the country, as they travel through the Great Smoky Mountains. The winning team gets a $50,000 grand prize. Previous show episodes can be viewed on HBO Max.
Keeping the competition a secret was a huge challenge, especially since Hele Rolls has regular customers.
“We couldn’t tell anyone,” Milam says. “On Instagram, we said, ‘This is our last pick-up and preorder until further notice;’ we didn’t know how long we were going to be there. Our regular customers were like, ‘What are you doing? Are you done?’ It was crazy to see all of that play out.”
The current season of “The Great Food Truck Race” premiered on July 26. The teams started in Nashville, according to Milam, who still remembers the first day of filming.
“We were so starstruck because we knew what we were doing there; everybody was looking at us,” she says. “It was insane; I will never forget that feeling.”
Hele Rolls usually pops up in tents at events; the business currently doesn’t operate out of a food truck, though that’s a future goal. Creating new friendships with other cast members and competing teams was one of the highlights of being on the show, according to Lopez.
“Though it was a competition, at the end of the day, we respected one another and cherished that experience as a whole,” she says. “We got a lot of different advice from everybody, their companies and their brands. A lot of them were more experienced in business; we’re freshly new in business. It was a lot to soak in, and also a chance for us to really be OK with being ourselves.”
For Milam, being on the show instilled a newfound sense of confidence.
“This show has given me the ability to see the worth in ourselves,” she says. “All these people believed in me and believed in us. Being selected to compete on Season 19 of Food Network’s ʻThe Great Food Truck Race’ has been an unforgettable experience and an incredible opportunity to represent Hawaiʻi on a national stage.”
“We continue to stay humble, but we’re so proud at the same time,” Lopez adds. “I think the best thing to do is to take a chance on yourself. You never know what can come out of any experience.”
As the business heads into its second year of operation, Milam and Lopez are focused on new goals for Hele Rolls. Milam — now running Hele Rolls full-time — says they would eventually love to own their own food truck and have a storefront.
“We’ve done so much in year one that we never thought was even possible,” Milam says. “We’ve been so blessed in one year — all these things that happened to us.”
She remembers when one of her first goals — in the business’s early days — was just to “have a line.”
“That’s all we wanted — two to three people,” she laughs. “A line means people are willing to sacrifice their time to stand in line for us and for our product. Having a storefront would be (amazing) because I know I can pump out more for them and it would be better quality; that’s always the goal.”
Being involved with the community is also important to the Hele Rolls team, who is always looking for ways they can support Hawaiʻi.
“We want to be known not just for cinnamon rolls; we want to be known as a business that’s supporting our community,” Milam says. “If somebody needs something, I want Hele Rolls to be in the front of people’s minds. It’s literally about family, food and community.”
No matter what the future holds, staying true to themselves and maintaining the brand’s mission is essential, according to Milam.
“Beyond the cinnamon rolls themselves, I think what truly makes Hele Rolls unique is the experience,” she says. “From the very beginning, we’ve wanted every customer to feel like they’re part of our ‘ohana. That sense of connection is just as important to us as the product we serve.”
“We’re incredibly grateful for the support our community has shown us over the past year,” Milam adds. “As a women-owned, LGBTQ+-owned and family-powered business, it means so much to see people embrace not only our cinnamon rolls, but also the story and values behind Hele Rolls. We wouldn’t be here without our amazing ‘ohana and community, and we can’t wait to share what’s next.”
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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
