Star Bakery & Cafe will open on South Grand in St. Louis this summer

By Sophia Liu // June 17, 2022

Star Bakery & Cafe will open at 5547 S. Grand Blvd. in late June or early July. The bakery will primarily serve baked goods such as cake, pastries, cookies and also include a breakfast and lunch menu. Owner Nikki Ahmadi anticipates hosting a grand opening event and will provide further details on the bakery’s social media.

Ahmadi began her baking journey in 2019 by making cakes for family, friends and other mutual contacts. Despite not having baked much when she was younger, Ahmadi soon established herself in the baking community and won the Best Tasting Cake in St. Louis title from Bride St. Louis at the 2019 Cake & Champagne Bridal Show. 

“I was an accountant, so I would come home tired, and then I would make a cake and it would calm me down,” Ahmadi said. “I [did] that for the past couple of years and then I decided it [was] time for me to leave the corporate world and open my own bakery because that’s what was making me happy.”

The bakery will have a selection of baked goods including cupcakes, cookies and more. As for commission-based orders, customers will need to provide a two-week notice for birthday cakes and a few months for wedding cakes. In addition, the bakery will serve both breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, there will be various breakfast sandwiches, bagels, croissants and parfaits. For lunch, the menu will include sandwiches, mac and cheese, tomato soup and broccoli-cheddar soup. And finally, coffee, tea and smoothies will be available too. Another notable component of Star Bakery & Cafe lies in Ahmadi’s Afghan heritage, in which she also hopes to introduce Afghan baked goods such as pistachio and almond cookies to the menu. 

As for the bakery’s interior, the 2,000-square-foot space is adorned with a flower wall and neon signage to welcome customers, along with a floral installation hanging from the ceiling.

Although it’ll primarily be a grab-and-go operation, there will be some seating and tables as a waiting area or for those have consultations for cakes and other special orders. The space will also be available for after-hours rentals for events like tea parties. Hours of operation will be Tuesday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“This is definitely something I love,” Ahmadi said. “When a customer has [my] cake and they’re like, ‘This is amazing,’ that makes me really happy – I created something that someone else loves.”