Black-owned businesses thrive post Austin gentrification

At just 14-years-old, Sianni Dean knew she wanted to make cinnamon rolls her life’s work. From gooey rolls ranging from classic flavors like red velvet, strawberry, and Oreo to sweet potato pie-filled rolls, peach cobbler and more, Dean has made it all.

After graduating from high school in 2017, she launched Cranky Granny’s sweet rolls as a catering business from her home in New Jersey, until she moved to Texas. She came to Austin in 2020 to live with her girlfriend and began selling cinnamon rolls out of her apartment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As she continued perfecting her unique recipes and her business grew, she decided, at 21, to open her first physical store at the Domain, a luxury outdoor mall in North Austin. But after over a year in operation, Dean was forced to close Cranky Granny’s after she said the mall kicked her out unexpectedly due to an issue with her contract.

Although she was unsure at the time what her next business move would be, she remembered her customers urging her to open a location in Pflugerville, which she wasn’t really sure what or where that was at the time.

“I knew it was a city somewhere, but like, I didn’t know how to spell it. I was just like, I don’t know where is that at?” Dean told MySA. “I remember a lot of our customers kept saying something about it and I was like, you know, let me check this out.”

In 2023, Dean opened Cranky Granny’s in Pflugerville and it has since become a viral sensation and destination spot for sweet tooth lovers and foodies alike. These highly-sought after rolls, which sell out daily, are a testament to the impact Black-owned businesses are having on the growing North Austin suburb.

Pflugerville is the second largest city in Travis County, with a population of nearly 80,000. Over the past decade, the city has experienced unprecedented growth from more Black and Latino residents moving there as a byproduct of Austin’s gentrification and higher cost of living.

In 2024, about 7% of Austin’s population was Black, while in Pflugerville that percentage was more than double the larger city’s size with an over 17% Black population within the same year, according to U.S. Census Data. Pflugerville boasts the largest Black population in Central Texas, but that wasn’t always the case. 

“A German town overnight became literally the most diverse city in Central Texas,” Pflugerville City Councilmember Rudy Metayer told MySA. “That doesn’t happen without that speaking volumes about the citizens there.”

Most Pflugerville residents are highly educated with over 41% of people (25 or older) completed Bachelor’s degrees and nearly 95% of residents having completed high school. The city also stands out as a higher income community for Black and Hispanic residents.

In 2022, the median household income for Black and Hispanic residents in Pflugerville was about $102,000, which was nearly twice the U.S. average for both minority groups at the time, according to the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation. Metayer explained that Pflugerville has been able to attract and sustain these diverse populations because of its business-friendly environment, strong school district and the amount of jobs available that do not require a college degree.

He said that Pflugerville has the highest percentage of entrepreneurs of any city in Central Texas, which has allowed businesses in the area to thrive. Metayer, whose been a councilmember since 2017, described this as a “team effort” between city entities to help residents reach their future goals, whether it be opening up a business, going to college, picking up a trade and more. 

“Pflugerville is a community that not only sees diversity as a strength, but is thriving because of the diversity that we have in our community and that’s pretty big,” Metayer said. “I’ve seen all the businesses, including Black businesses, thrive and fully develop because of the environment that is here, because of the opportunities that are made here, because of the the workforce that’s available, because of the business friendly regulations for businesses to operate and open.”

Most modern-day business owners are using social media to help grow their audience beyond just their geographical location and the same is true for Cranky Granny’s. In just two years, the shop’s Instagram account has gained over 150,000 followers, thanks, in part, to its commonly viral videos showcasing its visually appetizing cinnamon rolls. 

But another factor has been by word-of-mouth, from locals seeking to support Black-owned businesses and events in the Austin area. Where Y’all At Tho ATX is a “cultural tour guide” for Black Austinites hoping to find community within the city’s predominately white population.

Co-founders Michael Boone, Erin Knight and Lauren Light began the social media account in November 2023 to “help make it as easy as possible for Black and brown people to find each other.” Boone moved to Austin from Louisiana 10 years ago, and he said he’s found it difficult to build and maintain a community since many people of color he met in the city eventually moved away.

“Since I’ve been here, a lot of the questions that I always get asked is like, where’s all the Black people, where is all the brown people? So that’s like, the No. 1 question people ask. So that’s kind of where the name came from,” Boone said. “It’s like Where Y’all At Tho is a direct tie into the question and the problem we’re trying to solve.”

Boone said he and his co-founders find and create events in the Austin area like Round Rock, Cedar Park and Pflugerville, where a lot of the metro’s Black community is dispersed. The organization has a community calendar which displays a variety of social, non-profit and curated events like day parties and game nights for those wanting to meet people in a “chill” environment.

“We’re not really big on, like club culture and so much as partying, so we try to create other experiences outside of that,” Boone said. “With the events that we curate, we’re always trying to fill in the gaps.”

One of the guide’s most popular promoted events was learning how to play spades at Texas Sake Company, which Boone explained was through a local’s own Black Spades App. He added that although social media has its pros and cons, it’s ultimately helped give him “the tools and power to help spread the word as much as possible,” especially when promoting their own staple events like Auntie’s House ATX.

This family-friendly, free event includes vendors, music, dancing, and more. 

“We call it a cousin kickback,” Boone said. “We wanted to create a experience reminiscent of the times you used to have when you used to kick it at your auntie’s house with all your cousins, eating good food, listening to music, playing games.”

The next Auntie’s House, which is rodeo-themed, will be Sunday, February 23, at Pershing in Austin. 

As for Dean, she said the power of social media has propelled Cranky Granny’s to new heights like hosting pop-ups in several cities nationwide and even teaching rapper 2 Chainz how to make her famous cinnamon rolls in Las Vegas. It’s also earned the shop countless acclaim from influencers and media outlets by building on its reputation as having some of the best cinnamon rolls in Texas.

While Dean has more recently expanded her menu to include more savory options like fried chicken and buffalo chicken and cheese rolls as well as drinks, she said she also wants to expand her business to other markets within the next couple years like San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. Now 26, Dean added she hopes being a young Black-owned business owner will inspire others to do the same and to never be afraid to chase their childhood dreams. 

“Being able to see the impact that we are making, especially with me being as young as I am, I feel like it’s definitely an inspiration and something that a lot of people can kind of look forward to too,” Dean said. “It means a lot to me to even know that people are really watching, they’re really paying attention, and they appreciate the product and the business.”