The Only 2 US States Not Blessed With A Cinnabon Location

If you've been to a mall at some point within the past couple of decades, you've probably seen a Cinnabon location: a little shop or kiosk that specializes in cinnamon rolls so cartoonishly massive they look like the subject of a children's book about an overly hubristic mouse. Opinions on the chain are somewhat polarized: Anthony Bourdain once said that none of the eyebrow-raising foods he ate while traveling the world were as repulsive to him as Cinnabon, and "Better Call Saul" portrayed a managerial position in an Omaha Cinnabon as a soul-crushing purgatory for a criminal lawyer in hiding. Still, enough people like it to keep the business thriving: there are Cinnabon locations in 48 different states. The two exceptions? Two New England states: Maine and Vermont.

While Maine once had a Cinnabon location, situated in the Maine Mall in South Portland, it has since closed, and no other shopping center in the Pine Tree State has picked up the slack. Meanwhile, Vermont is generally not a state for fast food franchises in general: there's no Chick-fil-A in the Green Mountain State after the chain had a copyright dispute with a Vermont-based artist, and its capital of Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald's or a Starbucks. If you're in either state and you're craving cinnamon and frosting, you'll have to schlep over to Manchester, New Hampshire.

So why do these two states, specifically, not have a single Cinnabon location between them? Well, part of it has to do with foot traffic, or a lack thereof. Cinnabons thrive in malls, big box stores, and other shopping centers: areas where people can walk past, get a tantalizing whiff of pastry and cinnamon, and pop in for a quick bite. But Maine and Vermont don't have quite so many areas where that kind of foot traffic would occur. The states are primarily rural and lack huge airports and a ton of big malls where Cinnabon storefronts are typically found.

And in areas where there might be a lot of foot traffic — tourist towns, for instance — the niche for baked goods is often already filled. New England has no shortage of baked goods to call their own, and Maine and Vermont are no exception. When a Vermonter, or even a tourist visiting for the fall, is feeling peckish, do you think they'll reach for a cinnamon bun before one of the state's classic maple-glazed confections? Get outta town! The same goes with Maine, with its many quaint seaside tourist villages offering their own baked goods. There's only one most popular dessert in Maine, and it ain't Cinnabon. (It's blueberry pie, in case you were curious.)