Authenticity on the menu: How Legacy Rolls is redefining fast casual dining

By Kate Griffin, posted Mar 3, 2026 on BizFayetteville.com

Located at 1161 N. Bragg Blvd., Spring Lake, N.C., Legacy Rolls opened in March of 2025. The business is run by a father and son duo and draws on over 150 years of family tradition and history. Photos provided by Legacy Rolls.

In a time where many restaurants chase trends, one Spring Lake business is looking backwards instead. A father-son team and their 150-year-old family recipe built Legacy Rolls from the ground up. Now, this fast casual spot brings an authenticity and commitment to quality you can’t find just anywhere.

“Between me and my dad its been a long-time dream to have a family business. We’ve both had a passion for food, and both had a passion for cooking,” said Justin Canada, co-owner of Legacy Rolls. “My grandfather remembers his grandfather making them for him.”

Legacy Rolls is dedicated to serving good food with better ingredients in the Fayetteville and Spring Lake area. The menu is built on the family’s signature sweet rolls. This versatile recipe is foundational for everything from the everyday staples to the decadent desserts and the rotating specials.

“It was our tradition during the holidays to make rolls, and every Christmas and every Thanksgiving my dad and grandpa would wake up really early to get the first batch of rolls out — there’d probably be 30-40 people at my grandpa’s house,” said Justin. “The rolls have always been something the men in my family did.”

Long before the idea of a storefront existed, the roll recipe lived in the Canada family kitchens. It was passed down from one generation to the next in the Canada family for well over a century. Opening Legacy Rolls made sure the tradition lived on.

“It’s literally history, the country’s on its 250th anniversary and this recipe has been around for at least half of it, and that’s history right there,” said Canada. “I want to say a lot of families have a recipe that’s been passed on for that long, especially being African-American, they are hard to track back, and I’m lucky that my family’s done a good job of holding onto it so far, and hopefully one day I’ll be making rolls with my kids.”

Legacy Rolls has an expansive space well-suited for hosting events. They recently partnered with Black Artists Forward to showcase an art exhibition. Spring Lake Fashion Week is being hosted at Legacy Rolls at the end of March. Bible studies and other community groups meet at Legacy Rolls as well.

“That’s where we’re at. We wanted to make an impact on this community and show that Black-owned businesses can do something different in a classic way and set an example for people who want to build their own legacies,” said Canada. “Seeing people come in every day and eat the food we make is still kinda crazy to me, but in the same breath, it’s a dream come true. It’s not always easy, but I think that’s always worth it.”

What separates Legacy Rolls from the rest is their commitment to quality.

“A lot of people try to cut corners and find ways where they can make it work and we’re just not doing that here, I think that’s really a priority for us in terms of giving people fresh food, real food, like there’s no frozen chicken patties back here, we’re prepping fries every day, they’re not from a box. Our rolls are only seven ingredients, it’s fresh, it’s different, it’s not fast food, it’s fast casual. I think it’s worth making the trip out to Spring Lake for us, we’ve had people drive all the way from Wilmington just to try a cinnamon roll...there’s not another place like us around here.”

Legacy Rolls is committed to providing high-quality, all-natural and non-processed ingredients to create an unforgettable dining experience.

“Since we’ve opened, the goal has been to raise the bar, to raise the standard of what we eat and what we put into our bodies. One of the things we like to hang our hat on around here is even the flour we use is unbleached, there are no preservatives. We’re committed to giving people good food, and when you care more about what you put in your body, you’ll care more about what you put into your life.”

For the Canadas, the restaurant is more than a business venture, as successful as it is. Justin Canada views it more as a way to share their family tradition with the community, and hopefully serve as an inspiration for others as well.

“We’ve only been here a little bit less than a year, but I just think it’s so important as a young Black man is literally to be a person people can see,” said Canada. “Whether you’re a part of the staff or a customer, I just want you to feel like ‘Okay, I can do more.’ I think people don’t realize what they do every day is going to be their story. So if I can impact some lives through food and through being a kind, caring individual who’s willing to listen, or if you’re having a bad day and I can just make you a cheeseburger, that’s the goal for me.”

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