Our Story
Sweet Rabbit Bakeshop is a small cottage bakery founded by us, The Alexander Family in 2018. Nestled in the heart of Shirlington Village in Arlington, VA, we specialize in one timeless comfort, old-fashioned cinnamon rolls. What started as a family tradition with the birth of our son, we’ve now grown into a bakery that can share something our neighbors and community can also enjoy.
Whether you’re gathering around your family table at home, treating your coworkers, church family, or group, or even celebrating a special occasion, our rolls are made to bring people together. We thoughtfully source our ingredients prioritizing Virginia farmers, seasonal produce, & organic/sustainable farming practices.
Everything we bake is from scratch in our kitchen with flavors inspired by our heritage, childhoods, & simply our favorite things to eat. Our hope is that you taste the care in every bite as we share our family recipes with you.
1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”
About the Baker
Meet Quana Alexander —
Quana has loved food and pastry her whole life. Growing up, she was the designated taste-tester for everything her mother cooked and was the biggest fan of her grandma’s traditional baking. Her eagerness to learn and their guidance shaped her instinct in the kitchen.
Like most millennials, she also devoured food channels at a time when the main focus was to teach you how to cook and bake. She put her learning into practice by testing recipes and cooking often for her family. With her father owning various restaurants, she gained an entrepreneurial spirit that led to completing a culinary arts program in high school and had dreams to attend a culinary college after graduation.
She was accepted into a prestigious undergraduate culinary arts program, but being young at heart pivoted to an education in a different field instead. Even so, her gift of cooking and love of hospitality never left her. Eventually, she became an assistant cooking instructor at a wellness center in NYC and taught virtual cooking classes when she worked remotely for a non-profit.
In 2018, while pregnant with her son, her gift of baking really shined. She took every opportunity to learn new techniques and dove into every resource she gathered over the years in the industry. From learning to make sourdough starter on a farm in Raphine, Virginia to connecting with women, now her mentors, who are the best in their field of pastry. Her home quickly became a test kitchen with her family, friends, & neighbors serving as guiding lights keeping her inspired.
Through all of this, she started a new tradition of scratch made birthday cakes for her growing family; which was the most fulfilling and inspiring for her. Soon, she was baking for her extended family’s milestones too. However, a special treat from her childhood was pulling at her heartstrings; those popular giant cinnamon rolls everyone enjoyed at the mall in the 90s! She decided to recreate her own to bring that nostalgia to the present.
After months of recipe development, her old-fashioned cinnamon rolls were born and with encouragement from her husband Steven, Sweet Rabbit Bakeshop followed. In addition to the family business, Quana manages a restaurant full-time. However, with God’s grace, her favorite role is simply being the wife to a loving husband and “Mama” to their son, while relaxing in their home.
Ingredients
You will taste the difference with us —
Our priorities when sourcing ingredients are local, organic, and regenerative farming practices. Our wheat flour is grown and freshly milled in Roseland, VA with our dairy also sourced from local VA farms. When using vegan or gluten free ingredients, we source goods specifically designed for artisan baking. We sometimes feature seasonal bakes and they often include Caribbean fruits and other exciting ingredients. We gather these from specialty markets and producers that also align with our values.
Everything we offer is free from artificial ingredients, preservatives, and colors. Lastly, being a scratch bakery, we take everything as far as we can go from churning our butter in house, freshly grinding cinnamon, to making brown sugar and slow-stewed jams on our seasonal menu using our very own family recipes for everything we offer.
