Skratch Bakery finds the sweet key to surviving the pandemic: homemade treats

Those lined up at the counter in one Lee’s Summit bakery have plenty to delight their senses. The danishes, cakes, cinnamon rolls and cookies are works of art, and the sweet smell is enticing.

The biggest challenge for those waiting, socially distanced, of course, will be which sweet to pick, as each one of them is bound to be delicious.

Skratch Bakery, family owned and operated by Ron and Kelsey Kelly, and their son, Nick, offers pastries made, as their shop name teases, from scratch. The family says they are just one of many small businesses in Lee’s Summit trying to survive in 2020.

“We were rattled by the pandemic on the eve of our one-year anniversary as our business fell 50%, but we are staying afloat as we give a quality product and our local community shows us their support,” said Ron, founder of the bakery, located at 862 S.W. Blue Parkway.

“It’s one of those things: If our faithful few keep us above water as we weather the storm right now, we are going to be a staple in this community for a long time.”

Over the next few months, they anticipate a spike in sales as the demand for homemade baked goods increases. This year, they will be featuring sweet potato pie alongside holiday favorites like pumpkin rolls.

However, it’s the bakers’ cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip sea salt cookies that tend to fly off the shelves.

“We didn’t anticipate our cinnamon rolls becoming so popular, as we started only making six pans on Saturday,” said Nick, the general manager. “But now, even if we triple that or six times that amount, there have been times we haven’t been able to keep them all day. Those cinnamon rolls, my gosh, there’s no way to keep them on our shelves.”

The bakers get to work four hours before doors open at 8 a.m.

“We do our biggest and most popular pastry, the cinnamon rolls, every day along with cherry and cheese danishes, but we throw in some high-end pastries like cronuts and kouign-amanns as a feature pastry,” Ron Kelly said. “Our specialty is sliced cake and we try to offer at least three flavors. We also offer breakfast dishes like our biscuits and gravy, which are my favorite.”

Ron, a longtime baker who has a cookbook coming out in January, starting in the kitchen with his mom and aunts. All of the baked goods in the shop are created from his recipes.

“Baking has been a release and an outlet I’ve enjoyed my entire life,” he said. “I am a perpetual learner and am always perfecting recipes and trying new ones. It got to the point where I was giving so many cakes and desserts away that I started competing in shows, which brought success.

“Eventually, I wanted to see what it would look like to open a storefront.”

Nick said those working at Skratch Bakery put their heart and soul into their baked goods by only using the best ingredients.

“It’s good stuff because we make it the way we want to eat it and not just to be sold,” he said. “We have a high standard of excellence within our family and we believe in, not just the food, but the effort and love that goes into the food. We put that into every single bite as much as possible.”

Although the bakery is nly offering carry-out during the pandemic, the Kelly family hopes to open things up again as the lobby was created to feel comfortable, with antique decor.

“The atmosphere feels like you are home and that’s what we go for in our decor and in friendliness to associates and customers alike,” Nick said. “We make sure we go the extra mile because we want to make a business that we would want to go to.”

Skratch Bakery, at 862 S.W. Blue Parkway in Lee’s Summit, is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Visit them @sKratchbakery, or skratchbakery.com or call 816-434-5330.