After having a series of dreams that they believe were divine hints from God, a Minnesota couple moved to Indiana and bought a well-known cinnamon roll shop, continuing the previous owners’ legacy of grace and love.
From living in a camper to owning a bakery, their journey is nothing less than a real-life fairy tale. The devout Christians say the secret to their happy and fulfilling life is rooted in their hard work and faith.
“We had $3 in our account that day,” Mrs. Grotewold told The Epoch Times of the moment they signed the contract to own the business. “It’s been really cool to see that grow. That was a really good test for us in faith—we just had to trust God. He’s our provider.”
The Dreams
In 2021, Mrs. Grotewold had a dream about living in a camper in Indiana, which ended up being the first in a series of dreams she and her husband had. She described her dreams as not something “you could make up in your head,” but instead as “so intentional,” as if they had been relaying messages from God.At the end of 2021, some friends who were doing ministry work asked the Grotewolds to join them in Indiana, saying they'd have the perk of rent-free housing in a camper. This lined up with Mrs. Grotewold’s first dream.
“We told them nothing about the dreams,” she said. “They had no idea.”
The offer seemed God-ordained. The Grotewolds decided to go for it, moving in September of 2022. They didn’t have any plans other than being in Indiana and didn’t know what they’d do for work.
A Leap of Faith
Mrs. Grotewold says some people didn’t understand what in the world they were doing. She called them “external voices.” There were “internal voices” too, which told her money may be more important than trusting God.Moving to Indiana required the Grotewolds to take a leap of faith and not listen to these voices.
Less than an hour later, Mrs. Grotewold met up with staff at Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Rolls and Café.
“I‘d never been there before. I walked in, and the owner looked at me and handed me a [job] application. And he said, ’Here’s an application for you.' Just out of the blue,” Mrs. Grotewold said. “It was out of character for him, too—just totally random.”
Before long, she and her husband were working at the shop while still living in the camper.
Living in a camper as a married couple was not easy. At one point, the Grotewolds were living off $200 a week. Sometimes, the power would go out, or the pipes would freeze.
Mrs. Grotewold remembered she had another dream that strengthened her faith. She saw various storms and tornadoes, each representing a challenge they would have to face in Indiana. In the dream, she spoke to the storms and told them to be still and walked like the water was made of glass.
“That was proof for me that we were going to overcome every obstacle,” she said.
Buying The Shop
Launched over half a decade ago, Ooey Gooey was started by a couple named Kathy Chilcote and David Chilcote. Interestingly, Mrs. Grotewold said Mrs. Chilcote had a dream one night that she was to make cinnamon rolls for a living. The Chilcotes ended up selling their home and using the proceeds to establish Ooey Gooey, which is now a larger business.Ooey Gooey became well-known in the community, and locals and tourists alike visited.
One day, Mr. and Mrs. Chilcote announced that they wanted to retire and put the building up for sale.
The Grotewolds watched as prospective buyers—often couples—visited the shop every day and spoke with Mr. Chilcote. Several made “crazy offers” of large amounts of money, but for some reason, “every single offer would fall through for unknown reasons,” Mr. Grotewold said.
The Grotwolds had been praying during the entire process and had been living paycheck to paycheck. They had told the Lord that they weren’t interested in owning the shop but were willing to do so if it was His plan.
“And customers would come up to us every day—we would work almost all day long—and they’d tell us, ‘I think you’re supposed to buy the restaurant,’” said Mrs. Grotewold. “Some of it we shrugged off, but we started really asking God and praying about it, ‘Are we supposed to do this?’ And it was just this peace inside that was a ‘yes.’”
Mrs. Grotewold was all in, but her husband had some reservations. Those doubts were soon cleared.
One day Mr. Grotewold prayed for definitive instructions on what to do next, and a minute later, he was approached by a customer who told him to buy the shop. There was the answer.
“I felt this weight lift off, and I felt this peace, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it,’” Mr. Grotewold said.
Legacy of Love
Diving headfirst into business with practically no money and no business knowledge was difficult. Fortunately, the Grotewolds had an idea of how the shop worked since they had been employed there.Mr. and Mrs. Chilcote taught them the recipes and showed them how to get business licenses. Most importantly, Mr. Grotewold said, they showed them how to make customers feel welcome.
A hallmark of Mr. and Mrs. Chilcote’s management was their down-to-earth, friendly rapport with customers. Mrs. Chilcote would hug them, and Mr. Chilcote would greet them. This gesture of love was, perhaps, what separated the little cinnamon roll shop from the rest.
The Grotewolds are proud to be continuing the Chilcote’s legacy of love.
Today, a first-time customer at Ooey Gooey will likely be greeted by the bell in the front and arrive to cheers of “Woo-hoo! We got a new person!” Sometimes, employees will sit down with the new customer and get to know them.
The shop welcomes both regulars—whose names and orders they know by heart—and tourists. Employees often pray for customers and each other, having deep conversations with them and giving hugs.
Since Nashville is a tourist town, the shop receives a huge rush of customers in the fall. They take a yearly break for a few weeks in the winter. Weekends are fairly busy year-round.
Reflecting on their first year in business, Mr. Grotewold says they have learned how to give grace and love others. During busy seasons—especially on weekends—they have to work to not be affected by stress or other negative emotions.
They have now moved out of the camper into a house and are looking to expand the business.
“It’s really been taking off,” said Mrs. Grotewold, who credits Mr. and Mrs. Chilcote and most of all God for Ooey Gooey’s success.
The hardworking couple has a word of advice to other young people who are considering a leap of faith similar to the one they have taken: Obeying God is more important than listening to naysayers.
“Obedience is greater than sacrifice,” Mrs. Grotewold said.
“If we would have stayed in Minnesota or stayed in Iowa and just continued on the trajectory of life that we were on, we would have sacrificed all that we’ve gained now and all that we’ve learned and all the relationships.”
The couple is grateful for the opportunity they’ve been given and thankful for the fact that they chose to accept it. Walking hand-in-hand on their journey, the Grotewolds are ready for what God has in store next.
