At Jeff Tetz’s home office in Bend, the air is thick with the smell of cinnamon rolls. But the spicy smells are not coming from Tetz’s kitchen. Instead, they waft from Tetz’s upstairs office, where, opposite a small desk and computer, there’s a counter, coffee nook and small oven baking 12 doughy cinnamon rolls.

Saint Cinnamon brand logos emblazon various items around the office and the same red-and-yellow lettering is splashed across Tetz’s ”cinna-mobile” parked in the driveway: a Scion xB Tetz bought and covered in oversized pictures of cinnamon rolls.

Tetz, 40, an Oregon native who recently moved back after a decade in Salt Lake City, is attempting to start up a Saint Cinnamon franchise from this Central Oregon hub – and he’s already invested nearly $100,000 on the hope that he’ll be able to carve a niche for his business among existing bakeries and cafes that already sell similar products. In addition to cinnamon rolls, he also wants to offer crepes, sandwiches, and other food and drink items.

No store opening dates have been set, but Tetz hopes to snag enough franchisees to open 30 Oregon stores in five years, maybe five to eight just in Bend. Tetz hopes the first one will open in the next six months.

Saint Cinnamon would tread on turf of local coffee shops and cafes like DiLusso Bakery Cafe.

DiLusso owner Bob Golden says Bend can handle more bakery and cafe eateries – especially compared with Los Angeles, where he formerly lived, a city saturated with food choices.

”When I look at the Bend market, it’s a growing and vibrant market,” Golden said. ”There’s still not a tremendous selection in town.”

The Sparrow Bakery co-owner Whitney Blackman considers the addition of a new cinnamon roll franchise a double-edged sword for Bend.

”In one respect, I think any bakery is a wonderful thing because food relaxes people and comforts people, and I want to encourage any bakery or restaurant,” Blackman said. ”But at the same time, one of the reasons I opened this is I believe Bend has the ability to become a place with small, community businesses that are the face of Bend.”

Franchises always have a different, somewhat cookie-cutter feel compared to the neighborhood shops, but Blackman acknowledges their place in developing cities.

”The reality of a growing city is that they will come,” she said, adding that the Sparrow Bakery makes a cardamom roll that looks like a cinnamon roll, but has no cinnamon. Instead, sweets and spices are rolled in a croissant dough and baked until golden and flaky.

Tetz is one of only a few Saint Cinnamon franchisers in the United States, he said. A Georgia woman is opening a store in her state and another master franchiser is setting up in Colorado.

”With the guy in Colorado, we (will) create a buzz in the Western United States,” Tetz said.

A master franchiser is the person who gets other people to buy a company franchise, Tetz said, which means someone who can foot the $32,000 to get into the business and then the $100,000 to $250,000 to open a 1,500- to 2,000-square-foot Saint Cinnamon cafe.

Tetz doesn’t plan on opening a store himself, but as a master franchiser, he’ll get a percentage of the stores’ royalties.

Tetz doesn’t have any final agreements with franchisees yet, but he’s had a few leads since he moved here in January.

Toronto-based Saint Cinnamon – named after the rolls’ ”heavenly” taste – has 75 locations in the world, from the Middle East to Australia to the Philippines. Forty-three stores exist in Canada. None exist in the Northwest – yet.

Besides the trademark brioche rolls, the cafes offer cinnamon bread, cinnamon crisps, sweet and savory crepes, bagels, sandwiches, omelets, house-roasted coffee, drinks and other concoctions, including grilled cinnamon rolls filled with fruit and whipped cream.

Tetz chose to start franchising in Bend for three reasons:

* The local community is friendly and full of entrepreneurs who are more likely to support the Saint Cinnamon business venture more than other metropolitan areas.

* Bend is a coveted area to live, with many transplants who travel regularly. Because of that, news of Saint Cinnamon will quickly spread through word-of-mouth advertising.

* Central Oregon is, well, central – its location allows Tetz to move outward in all directions.

How will Saint Cinnamon stores attract Central Oregonians who already have their pick of local bakeries and cafes?

”Our difference is we have a more European flavor, with the crepes, for instance,” Tetz said.

Additionally, Saint Cinnamon has evolved a concept made popular in many Northwest cities by Cinnabon, the jaw-droppingly rich cinnamon-roll franchise based out of Seattle, with 600 locations in 30 other countries, according to Cinna-bon’s Web site.

Instead of relying on rich pastries to attract customers, Saint Cinnamon has products that will even appeal to a High Desert health nut, said Mark Halpern, executive vice president for Saint Cinnamon.

”Our cinnamon rolls, which have zero trans fats, are not our only signature product,” Halpern said from Toronto. ”The crepes are very healthy: They are made with a very thin layer of batter and can be filled with vegetables, chicken or turkey inside for a nice meal.”

The cafes also have a number of salad selections, he added.