What happened to the famous honey bread bakery in Kansas City?

When Kansas Citians shopped for bread a century ago, they often got it from the Smith family.

In 1888, B. Howard Smith opened the first Smith’s Steam Bakery on East 17th Street.

By the time this postcard was published some twenty years later, he owned a chain of thirty bakeries. Three of them were local, most notably this one on the northeast corner of 18th & Cherry Streets.

What made it so clean?

Hard to say, but according to their ads, they used something called Linofelt to insulate the bread rooms, and installed special ovens that regulated the temperature during the baking process.

And, gulp, even manufactured their own cockroach repellent!

Honey Bread was apparently Smith’s calling card. After 1908, the bakery also started producing Holsum Bread, licensed from a brand based in Arizona.

In 1926, New York’s General Baking Company purchased the operation, managed then by Smith’s son Bryce.

Four years later, he was elected mayor of Kansas City. Despite his claims to the contrary, Smith was closely connected to the powerful political machine run by Tom Pendergast.

General eventually closed the plant in 1958. The complex sat vacant until the mid-1960s, when the Unitog Corporation purchased it for manufacturing uniforms.

Ironically, as the East Crossroads area keeps adding new places to eat, drink and socialize, this notable part of the city’s food history is now just a large vacant lot.

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Looking for more Kansas City history?

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This story was originally published June 19, 2024 at 6:00 AM.