Registry

Does Cinnabon (GoTo Foods, formerly Focus Brands) support Israel?

Support documentedupdated 2026-07-30

Yes — Cinnabon (GoTo Foods, formerly Focus Brands) has documented support for Israel on record. Every claim below links to its source.

Filed under: Fast food & restaurant chains · Companies that support Israel

Background

Cinnabon is a brand of GoTo Foods, the Atlanta franchisor formerly called Focus Brands and owned by Roark Capital, which also holds Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Jamba, Moe's Southwest Grill, McAlister's Deli and Schlotzsky's. Everything documented in Israel is the work of independent local franchisees operating under licence: R.O.K from 2011 until the closure in August 2016, and since July 2024 the individual franchisee Vyacheslav Sokolin, who has taken the brand from a single bakery in Kiryat Bialik to further sites in Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion and Petah Tikva. No donation, in-kind aid, statement, investment, contract or sponsorship supporting Israel has been documented for Cinnabon, Focus Brands, GoTo Foods or Roark Capital, and no gift of free product to soldiers, reservists or evacuees has been found from the Israeli operation — which was not trading at all between August 2016 and July 2024, and so did not exist on 7 October 2023. The franchisor has no charitable foundation registered in the United States, no political action committee and no SEC filings. Cinnabon does not appear on the BDS movement's official boycott target list, and no viral claim or fact check specific to Cinnabon and Israel was found; the only curiosity in the record is that the brand's corporate site in 2011 labelled the regional franchise territory "Palestine," a mapping convention rather than a position.

Mako — the three Israeli attempts, franchisees and dates (8 Jul 2024) Wikipedia — Cinnabon (ownership history; Israel under former locations, closed August 2016) GoTo Foods — Cinnabon international development page Cinnabon Israel — official Instagram account

Timeline of documented support

201120132015201720192021202320252011 — Operations in Israel: Israeli market — first Cinnabon franchise (Rabin Square, Tel Aviv)Operations in Israel20112024-07 — Operations in Israel: Israeli market — Cinnabon's return under a new local franchiseeOperations in Israel2024-07

Documented support

TypeDateAmountRecipientSources
Operations in Israel2011—Israeli market — first Cinnabon franchise (Rabin Square, Tel Aviv)
Cinnabon first entered Israel in 2011, when the local franchisee known as R.O.K opened the brand's first Israeli bakery on Rabin Square in Tel Aviv under an official franchise from the American company, investing about ₪10 million and planning ten branches. The venture never reached that scale, declined over the following years and closed in August 2016; a second attempt was prepared but never opened a store. These were the acts of an independent Israeli franchisee operating under licence, not of Cinnabon's owner — the brand belonged to Focus Brands, now GoTo Foods of Atlanta, a Roark Capital company. No donation, statement or other Israel-support action by the franchisee or the franchisor is recorded for this period.
Operations in Israel2024-07—Israeli market — Cinnabon's return under a new local franchisee
Cinnabon returned to Israel in July 2024, nine months into the war that began on 7 October 2023, when Vyacheslav Sokolin, an individual entrepreneur from Bat Yam who obtained the franchise directly from the American company, opened a bakery at the Kiryon mall in Kiryat Bialik and said he planned 30 to 40 further branches over four to five years. Unlike the 2011 attempt, this one is backed by a single franchisee rather than an investor group. The brand's official Israeli account has since announced further locations, including the Azrieli mall in Tel Aviv, a branch at Azrieli Rishonim in Rishon LeZion in May 2025 and a kosher (OU-certified) branch in Petah Tikva in December 2025, and it continues to solicit new sites. GoTo Foods' own international development page lists Israel among the markets that are unavailable — that is, already awarded to a franchisee. All of this is market presence created and run by an independent Israeli franchisee under licence; it is not a donation, a statement or any transfer of funds by Cinnabon or GoTo Foods to Israeli institutions, and no such transfer has been found.

Frequently asked questions

Did Cinnabon (GoTo Foods, formerly Focus Brands) donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?

We have no records of cash donations, but Cinnabon (GoTo Foods, formerly Focus Brands) has documented support of other kinds (Operations in Israel). See the records on this page.

Where does this information come from?

Every record on this page links to its source — news reports, official company statements, tax filings, or government records. 5 distinct sources are cited for Cinnabon (GoTo Foods, formerly Focus Brands). Our methodology page explains the full verification process.

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-07-30

Companies with documented support