August 8, 2020

By Sandy Foster of the Tribune

Hello, Lee’s Summit! There’s a new cinnamon roll in town, and it’s amazing!

Skratch Bakery is where it can be found. The bakery is family owned and operated by long time Lee’s Summit residents Ron Kelly, his wife Kelsey, and their son Nick. Skratch Bakery got its start in March 2017 doing trade shows, conventions, and online orders. They moved to their first storefront at 862 SW Blue Parkway in Lee’s Summit March 16, 2019 and have been bringing instant favorites like: cinnamon rolls, carrot cakes and chocolate chip sea salt cookies warm out of the ovens ever since.

Curious about spelling Skratch with a K? Ron explained in a recent interview, “We make everything from scratch, but we decided to insert a “K” to stand out, and because that’s the first letter of our last name.”

Baking is a passion of Ron’s, and he has been baking for family and friends for years. “I am self-taught,” he explained, “however, I give credit to my mother and aunts, who sparked my baking interest. I’m very passionate about perfecting my craft, making me a perpetual baking pupil, always looking to learn new techniques and procedures.”

“My father told me when he was alive that everyone will eat free cake. He said I’d know how much people enjoyed my desserts if they were willing to pay for them, and he was right.”

Ron starts his day at the bakery very early, working on the day’s offerings and perfecting new recipes. “We have a few family recipes at the bakery, but most of what we offer are recipes I’ve adapted and tweaked over the years.”

Skratch Bakery is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 8:00am to 2pm. The breakfast menu consists of breakfast sandwiches (pork or turkey, egg and cheese), biscuits and gravy, cinnamon rolls, Danishes and muffins.

Like many other businesses, Ron went on to explain that COVID-19 has had a big impact on them. “Our business has dropped to 50% of what it was pre-COVID,” he said. “We’ve had to streamline our menu, so we’re only offering breakfast, cake slices and cookies on a carry out basis. We’re still filling all whole cake special orders as well. We plan to bring back the lunch menu once we reopen the eat-in portion of our lobby.”

Ron went on to say that the best part of owning Skratch Bakery is getting to see customers’ reactions to the baked goods he has made. “The team at Skratch Bakery is up early and we work hard to make the best treats we possibly can. We don’t compromise when it comes to quality ingredients.”

Ron enjoys interacting with his customers and followers through FaceBook Lives where he actually “bakes” with them. “I don’t give out recipes, because we bake on such a large scale,” he said, “but I’m working on a Bake Book, (with many of our favorite recipes scaled down) which is coming out the first of next year!”

You can follow Skratch Bakery at @skratchbakery on all platforms and if you’ve ever thought about working in a bakery, Ron might be someone to talk with. “The biggest challenge to owning the bakery is finding good help. It’s difficult to keep up with the demand as a solo baker. I know good help is out there!” If that’s you, you can contact Ron at (816) 434-5330 or email the bakery at [email protected].