Central Valley graduate, restaurant exec Raymond Lindstrom dies

A Central Valley High School graduate who helped create the Cinnabon died Aug. 15 in Bellevue.

Raymond Lindstrom, who also helped create several signature Seattle restaurants, was 63 and suffered from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

“He was so much fun. He made everyone feel like they were his best friend,” said his wife, Jackie Lindstrom. “He just had this openness and this charm and this twinkle. And I know at the memorial, when I say, ‘I lost my best friend,’ half of the people seated there will feel the same way.”

Lindstrom was born in Honolulu in 1943 and grew up in Opportunity. His popular leadership style emerged early; he was elected student-body president at Central Valley.

He served in the Reserve Officers Training Corps during his college years at the University of Washington, and upon his 1965 graduation entered active duty with the Army Corps of Engineers and was stationed in Thailand as a first lieutenant. He returned to Seattle in 1967, and in 1971 he earned his master’s degree in business administration from UW.

Lindstrom then launched his 25-year career with Seattle-based Restaurants Unlimited. An interview with company founder Rich Komen landed him a job in Tacoma, overseeing the final construction and opening of a Clinkerdagger’s. By 1973, he controlled all restaurant operations, and in 1979 became company president. He rose to chief executive officer before leaving the company in 1996.

Perhaps his most lasting contribution will be the role he played in developing Cinnabon, a mainstay of malls throughout North America. In the mid-1980s in Kansas City, Komen came up with the concept of cinnamon rolls as a specialty food, and his team set about creating a memorable one. They flew all over the country sampling rolls, then hired Edmonds restaurateur Jerilyn Brusseau.

“It was an extraordinary experience,” said Brusseau, who worked closely with Lindstrom for months, producing two to four test batches every day.

“It really was one of the highlights of my culinary career. There was such vision and incredible passion for creating the world’s greatest cinnamon roll.”