It’s the wee hours of the morning. Pitch-dark sky, hardly a murmur on these urban streets. Most of Kansas City tucked in their cozy beds.
Boujee Baker KC at 2311 E. 12th St.; photo by Joyce Smith
But inside this tiny brick building on 12th Street earlier this week, the lights are bright, R&B music is buzzing, and the oven is blazing — ready to finish off freshly-made dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls, cakes and pies.
Owner Joyce Watts had a long stint serving up such treats with her sisters under Big Momma’s Bakery-Cafe and then as a home-based business as Boujee Baker KC.
Seven months ago, she opened a bakery and retail shop at 2311 E. 12th St.
“People say they are nostalgic. ‘This reminds me of my grandma, my mom,’” Watts said of her brand of baking business. “They say, ‘It just warms my heart.’”
When Watts was a youngster, she would pretend to bake, making mud pies outside, and “hosting” a cooking show. But she left the cooking to a sibling and her mother. It wasn’t until she picked up a church cookbook that she delved into cooking for her family, which includes her three children.
“It just spoke to me. The recipes were clear and easy. I would see one and want to taste it,” she said.
At the time, Watts worked at DST in accounting, billing and programming — experience that later helped as an entrepreneur.
Watts and her husband, Richard, usually start their business day about 4 or 4:30 a.m. — hours before Richard leaves for his full-time job. The business’ one full-time employee, Chesni Bivens, is her son’s friend from fourth grade. One of her granddaughters, Anya Handy, is on call.
An array of menu items from Boujee Baker KC at 2311 E. 12th St.; photo by Joyce Smith
Along with sweets, Boujee offers breakfast (breakfast sandwiches, biscuit and sausage gravy, quiche, breakfast panini, and more), and lunch (sandwiches, soup, salads, and wraps). Some customers — employees of the water department — requested the chicken taco soup be on the menu daily. Now there’s a big pot full simmering beside two rotating flavors — such as zuppa toscano, loaded baked potato, chicken noodle, chicken pot pie, steak, and lasagna.
Richard makes the melt-in-your-mouth corned beef and smoked chicken for the sandwiches and panini. Other meat choices include ham, chicken salad and roast beef.
Third party delivery orders have surged, and surrounding businesses often send new customers.
“They come in and they love seeing a Black-owned, woman-owned business,” Watts said. “People have been so gracious.”
Baking a full-circle confection
Watts started Big Momma’s two decades ago with her sisters — Jackie Buycks and Jill Arnold. The siblings took over a former Raytown doughnut shop where they whipped up homespun recipes that had been favorites in their family for decades. They named it after Arnold’s mother-in-law.
They expanded in Raytown, adding indoor seating. Watts said Jill left the business when she and Jackie relocated to the Crown Center Shops in 2009. The high-traffic location drew customers from across the metro, as well as tourists. One year, they sold 1,500 dozen buttery dinner rolls just for Thanksgiving.
But when they were renewing their lease five years later, Jackie decided she wanted to be a fulltime minister.
“I hated it when they left me. I begged them to stay,” Watts said. “I couldn’t be mad. But I was.”
Watts went on to open a church daycare before reopening Big Momma’s on Bannister with her former husband in 2018. They later divorced. He couldn’t be reached for comment.
Watts started Boujee Baker KC as a homebased business in 2020.
She signed a lease for the 12th Street spot in January, and after renovations, opened the brick-and-mortar location in May next to Wing Lovers USA and near Gates Bar-B-Q.
(In a full-circle note, a previous cupcake tenant, Cupcakin’ Bakery, moved into the former Big Momma’s space in Crown Center Shops three years ago.)
A baked goods selection at 2311 E. 12th St.; photo by Joyce Smith
Refining the business recipe
She misses her sisters and the skills they brought to the business — such as marketing, hard for Watts who likes to be behind-the-scenes. But being the sole owner gives her the final say for introducing new items.
Joyce Watts, Boujee Baker KC; photo by Joyce Smith
She spent several years perfecting her cheesecake recipe and only recently felt it was good enough for her customers. Now the goodies are Boujee’s bestsellers — strawberry, cherry, Oreo, Turtle, brownie, strawberry crunch, banana pudding and more.
She’s tweaked some of the longtime recipes and also has introduced new breads to sell as loaves and for her sandwiches — a white bread, an onion bread, strawberry cream cheese, Italian, and jalapeño cheddar.
Breads are baked in house, except for its sourdough which is made by her niece, Shyla Jones, known as The Bread Lady in Raymore.
Watts also has a new garlic Parmesan butter for the panini.
Boujee Baker is open for breakfast, and lunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
The mainstays are sweet potato bars, dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls (large, medium and mini sizes).
The bakery also sells a variety of cookies, including chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, strawberry lemonade, banana pudding, Ooey Gooey Butter, and peanut butter ($1.25 each or $15 a dozen).
Cupcakes are mostly by order. Flavors include chocolate heaven, banana pudding, and strawberry shortcake. Boujee also sells brownies, cakes, parfaits, muffins, peach cobbler, sweet potato pie and lemon meringue pie.
Watts also is expanding her catering operation for corporate meetings, birthday parties and showers, and other events. She also wants to do more pop-ups.
Soups from Boujee Baker KC at 2311 E. 12th St.; photo by Joyce Smith
The gift shop at Children’s Mercy hospital recently ordered 1,500 of her treats for a two-day pop-up but sold out the first 750 by early afternoon. Watts had to bring in her two teenage granddaughters to make more.
“The flavors are great and I think the pricing is reasonable,” said Jennifer DiCarlo, director, gift shops. “We like to support local. And she was good to work with from a business standpoint, very professional.”
Watts called her husband her biggest cheerleader, “letting me shine,” she said.
She would tell others starting out to not get easily frustrated.
“Hang in there. Take on the task. Easier days are coming,” she said.
Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.
