Cinnamon Buns
S3 E7: General Store
Schitt’s Creek, 2015.
Continental breakfast at the Rosebud Motel is, by all accounts, an act of quiet heroism.
Johnny Rose, with his signature blend of desperation and decorum, has decided to elevate the motel experience by offering this hallmark of mid-tier lodging. Enter Ivan, the bashful local baker whose muffins have long been the understated stars of the Café Tropical. But muffins alone won’t suffice for Johnny’s ambitious breakfast vision. No, he demands cinnamon buns. And not just any cinnamon buns, but swirls of sugar and spice that somehow encapsulate the fragile hope of turning a roadside motel into a destination. Ivan, ever the romantic, seems less interested in payment and more in enlisting Johnny as his personal Cyrano, a trade of baked goods for whispered love strategies.
Meanwhile, in the heart of Schitt’s Creek, the town’s only general store teeters on the brink of extinction. Poor sales have doomed its dusty aisles, leaving Moira Rose, now a councilwoman, to navigate the moral complexities of approving its replacement by Christmas World, a monolithic retailer with a penchant for yearl-long yuletide cheer. Initially, Moira, ever pragmatic (and conveniently disinterested in the plight of small-town commerce), leans toward supporting the big box newcomer. That is, until David, armed with a history of semi-successful business ventures and a newfound confidence thanks to Stevie’s unwavering support, declares his intention to take over the lease himself. It’s not just a store to David; it’s a canvas for his vision, a chance to curate a space where succulents and scented candles could coexist harmoniously.
The episode’s tension crystallizes in David’s reckoning with his past. His tenure at the Blouse Barn, and even his prior gallery ventures, weren’t exactly tales of self-made triumphs but rather quiet collaborations with his parents’ wallets. Moira’s reluctant pride and Johnny’s cautious encouragement give way to something rare: genuine faith in David’s ability to transform this corner of the Creek. As Ivan’s cinnamon buns appear on breakfast plates (or in boxes hidden away in a certain motel room), so too does the dream of Schitt’s Creek’s own general store, a dream as oddly satisfying as the town itself.
Make it! Cinna-buns from King Arthur Flour.