MeMa’s Old-Fashioned Bakery

Ordered a ham and cheese for breakfast and it was the equivalent of something you’d get from a 7 – 11 or quiktrip. Microwaved with unmelted nasty American processed cheese. I guess I expected more from a bakery. It just felt like there was no effort made at all. I don’t think Mema would approve.

This local downtown café exhibits such a comfortable environment. Very wholesome and decorated according to the seasons. Not to mention good breakfast options and pastries!

Great homemade treats. I usually go out to the one on State Ave in KCK but I was out at Alamo heading back to the car & saw they still open. I don’t think their hours are right. I think they stay open later due to location or local events bringing in business. If you’re in P&L, stop by for late treat or do as I do & pick up something for breakfast the next morning. Nice friendly staff & they sell pastry items that are from the day before for cheap price… it’s still great. I want to try everything.

Nice, cozy place in Power & Light. Great place to get away for a quick lunch & enjoy the quiet. Very affordable prices & lots of great desserts! I’ll be a repeat customer!

Loved MeMa’s Bakery! It’s a fun cozy family owned joint in the middle of KC that will make you feel at home no matter the hour. The breakfast is great, can’t go wrong with the biscuits and gravy or buttermilk pancakes. Need a late night bite, the baked goods are done right with the Apple Strudel being a must try.

Just had a gourmet Mexican chicken salad croissant. It was delicious! Highly recommended.
Mema’s is a wonderful part of downtown KC. Affordable, yummy, fast & friendly service — what more could anyone ask for?

I must have missed the memo about the cupcakes here.
I grabbed a red velvet at 8:30 in the morning, thinking that it’d be (somewhat) fresh. Wrong. The icing was ice cold and cold buttercream just does not mix well. What kind of monster makes red velvet cupcakes with plain ol’ buttercream frosting anyway?!
EDIT: I appreciate the owners reaching out to me and I think that says a lot about the business, so I’m upping the rating to 3 stars. The owner was even nice enough to offer to make me complimentary cupcakes with cream cheese frosting the next time I visit.
To note — I can understand a refrigerated display case, but the icing on my cupcake was definitely frozen solid and fell off in one whole chunk. May be worth it to investigate why this would be the case.

The women who work at and run this place are very friendly! The food is very good! I just wish they had longer hours on weekends and evenings.

Went in at 8:30am looking for breakfast treats but they were already sold out! I had to get some cookies and other treats which were excellent however f you’re looking for breakfast goodies — go early!

MeMa’s used to be a regular lunch spot for me. I was a big fan of the chicken salad croissant and the BBQ brisket sandwich (which I still miss). I love the cozy atmosphere, the originality of the place and the baked goods were appealing. The ladies there are nice, and being that it’s a small space, no long lines or big crowds, I was a recognizable face, yet I always felt like a stranger there. They seemed so friendly and familiar with all the other regulars, but never went out of there way to say «how have you been» or «it’s been awhile» or «would like a punch card since you eat here so ofter» (I was way past a free lunch). you know, just those friendly jesters you appreciate from a business. More about the food, which was good, but never amazing. Since I stuck to a usual order, I would be annoyed when the recipe would change then change back. The chicken salad originally has a shredded texture and a sweet taste, but at random I would get big, chunky chicken and very blan. I only bought the baked goods a couple of time– a cookie, a cinnamon roll… but to be completely honest, the grocery store around the corner puts MeMa’s bakery to shame so MeMa’s was only a lunch place for me. I no longer eat there only because I want a new routine, but it was a nice experience.

Excellent Panini’s!!! They were amazing! Kind and friendly service… I would go back for sure!

I make no claim of objectivity in regard to Mema’s. I feel like I’m part of the family, and that’s because the girls have always made me feel that way. Mema’s is a family business, born and raised in KCK, and everyone working there is a member or friend of that family. That comes through in how easy it is to form a relationship with them, and why you see menu items named after regulars.
When I started going, it was because it was one of the cheapest lunches around. A basic but tasty sandwich on a homemade (and since discontinued) wheat croissant was a staple for me, and it was better than just any generic deli sandwich.
Since then, I’ve given them some business advice and they’ve given me some free food. We’ve talked through menu ideas and they’ve created custom sandwiches for me. They’ve expanded their menu to make better use of Ashley’s creativity, and have some up with some stand-​out results. The Chipotle Chicken Panini, a stewed black bean and chicken concoction smashed up with cheese and veggies, is a favorite.
In this, the month of veggies, I don’t miss a beat with Mema’s. That’s because they know what I’m up to and they make something specific for me. They’ll do it for you too! Just ask. Sure, we’re used to getting what we get at polished corporate outfits, but this isn’t one of those.
Aside from that, Mema’s cranks out a lot of cakes, which is something of a specialty for the owner of this location. Her competition awards can be seen lining the walls. If it isn’t cakes, it is baked goods. I’m not a big fan of sweets, but they’ve got some items that I really enjoy. If you aren’t a big cookie person, try the «All In» cookie, made with agave, natural sugar, nuts, and some other hippy stuff: it is less sweet, with more texture and complexity than your run-​of-​the-​mill cookies. And better for you too!
I love this place because I feel like I’m part of it. You can be too. Tell them I said hi, and ask for something special. You deserve it, and you’ll see what makes having a local place in the District so awesome.

3:23 p.m. — I think that’s it… the average time we all want that little something to snack on. In my case, since I almost always prefer to chew my calories, I want something baked.
On a scorching day back to the office from an off site work adventure my coworker and I were on our way to the store to pick up our pick-​me-​up and we remembered MeMa’s. There were selections from sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, cookies and cupcakes. Everything was the size of my head. We selected the cookies for ourselves and the team waiting for us back in the air conditioned oasis.
The chocolate chip had been, basically, pimped. It was overloaded with chocolate chips and they had gone to the added trouble to line the outside of the cookie with even more chips. The chocolate addict recipient was apparently in heaven.
The sugar cookies were slightly under baked, not raw, but not completely baked. I am not sure how I feel about this texture. Yes, they were soft but I think I prefer them baked through. The icing was way too thick. I had to scrape it off in order to eat the cookie. What happened to the thin icing that is drizzled on sugar cookies. I think I prefer the thin layer to the thick, Crisco-​like, icing which was overly sugary.
I’ll probably be back to try the rolls and I like the fact that when I have my 3:23 p.m. NEED there is a place downtown to solve the problem.

Carrot cake, apple something, and a fudge brownie. The first was good… the latter two items were totally not memorable. Disappointing. Since the bank was not broken it was not a total loss.

Im conflicted about this place. On one hand I really want to support local business, especially one located so close to P&L and on the other I feel jipped as to how much I have to pay for a mediochre lunch accompanied by mediocre service in a small and mediocre setting. It isnt that that MeMa’s doesnt have good food its just w/​a name like «MeMa“s» you hope for something on the exceptional side rather than the, well, mediocre. I stare longingly at their bakery case everytime Im in there but after eating their «ok» lunch Ive yet to be inspired to spend $ 3 on a cupcake or any other baked good.
They reeled me in, initally, when they started doing 50 cent taco Tuesdays. When they incorporated their homemade chicken tortilla soup for $ 2 I began adding it my order and was inspired to work up my own recipe at home. This became my regularly Tuesday eatery and I looked forward to going. When I went in this past week only to find the cost of tacos had increased by 15 cents. Its not that 65 cents is that expensive, in fact its incredibly cheap for a deli but when the food is mediocre and I can make BETTER tacos at home for less than why go?
I would like to note that since becoming a patron of MeMa’s Ive tried their Chicken Salad Sandwich, Tuna Salad Sandwich, and Paninis. None of which was better or as good as any other place (Shrug)
I will still eat at MeMa’s because I want them to succeed but by doing so I am prepared for what I get.

MeMa’s is sort of a «What Doesn’t Belong» business in the P&L. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in love with their pastries. But amidst all the sleek, modern, shiny businesses that have sprung up in the last few years around here, MeMa’s stands out for its country quaintness.
But back to the pastries. I could go here every day for the cookies alone… and I almost do. My mornings are somehow incomplete without something tasty from their pastry case.
The provitica is delicious, as are their cinnamon rolls. I’m in love with their peanut butter cookies. Seriously. They’re huge and have some weight to them… nothing light and fluffy about THESE cookies!
I’m not a big fan of their lunch offerings, but they do have a killer Taco Tuesday special. And if you stop by late in the afternoon, you can usually get a deal on whatever’s left over in the case.
My big gripe, as it is with any business downtown, is the hours. They close at 5pm M-​F and are only open for a short time on Saturdays. Sigh. I get tired of saying this, but my biggest pet peeve with downtown businesses is the fact that they aren’t open for people who actually live downtown. It would be nice if I got home from work and could go grab a sweet snack after dinner. Or if I could get up on Sunday morning and go get my usual.
I hate living downtown and not being able to actually support downtown businesses to the extent that I’d like to.

I can’t testify to any other pastries besides the apple strudel and povitica bread, but the povitica bread is worth the stop alone. It’s a small little bakery with just a few tables and a very friendly staff.

Right now, I’m just going to say those cookies are gi-​normous and really really good. We’ll see if I survive any other pastry decisions. LOL.

MeMa’s is definitely quite a contradiction to the young, glossy, sexy spaces that have sprung up all over downtown in the last few years. Mema’s truly is an old-​fashioned, family oriented bakery that looks like your granny just opened it. Hard to believe that only a few stories above MeMa’s country storefront you’d find bikini bodies grinding to the newest Kayne West at the Jones Pool.
Instead of loading up on any of the beautiful looking baked goods in the front case, I chose one of the lunch specials. Mema’s has a number of very cheap lunch specials where you can get a soda/​sandwich for under $ 5. The chicken salad was fine, but quite plain (a croissant with basic chicken salad). I guess you could call it old-​fashioned because if you’re looking for a modern twist… this ain’t your spot.
The people working inside were sweet girls and I’d visit again to patronize a good local business. However, I’m sure you could find similar sandwiches with more flavor and the same price at the Cosentino’s next door. You just don’t get the same neighborhood, family feel at a mega-​grocer that you would at your grandma’s place.

I was happy to have MeMa’s added to my work neighborhood. That block of Main should now be called Pastry Row because 3 places sell pretty good pastries in a one block area. MeMa’s is the best place of the 3 to get a pastry though.
I go with the cinnamon roll, which I consider one of the best cinnamon rolls in town (Chacko’s has the cinnamon crown). No bite of the cinnamon roll can be found without a bit of icing, cinnamon and cinnamon syruppy goodness. They also have several varieties of danishes (I’ve had the pineapple which was made from fresh pineapple) which are also good. Another house specialty is the streudel which comes in cherry and apple. I haven’t had one of these yet. The brownies are huge and tasty.
As the previous commenter pointed out, they have 3 or 4 lunch options that don’t really float my boat. I’ll probably never have one, there are much better lunch options in the 3 block radius. The star here is the pastries.