The Pioneer Bakery Café serves up seasonal specials, an elevated menu, and a vital mission in Kirkwood

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Photo by Lynn Venhaus

At The Pioneer Bakery Café (210 N. Kirkwood) in Kirkwood, the mission is "Baking New Beginnings"—a phrase that's apt in numerous ways.

A joint effort between McArthur’s Bakery and Lafayette Industries' STEPUP program, the café provides an opportunity for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities to develop soft skills, including front- and back-of-house work in fast-casual dining. The partnership with STEPUP was born after McArthur Bakery's Kirkwood location closed, in 2019, and the team brainstormed what to do with the space.

“We hope our mission gets you through the door, but you return for the food and the experience,” says owner Scott Rinaberger. “We have a great mission but even better food.”

Here's what to know before you go.

Timely Treats

The bakery perpetually has something new in the works, including seasonal and monthly specials. 

Making plans for Mardi Gras? Orders for king cakes can be placed online now for delivery or pickup at Pioneer Bakery Cafe or McArthur's Bakery (3055 Lemay Ferry).

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Courtesy of Pioneer Bakery Cafe

The bakery also offers a cake of the month: Winter White Cherry in January and Amaretto with raspberry filling in February.

And next month, on February 4, the café will celebrate Ice Cream for Breakfast Day by opening its extensive ice cream bar—featuring Wisconsin-based Cedar Crest Ice Cream—at 7 a.m. Guests can enjoy ice cream and waffles or pair a scoop of choice with a piece of McArthur's gooey butter cake.

The Menu

Courtesy of Pioneer Bakery Cafe

Chef Jason Longfield

A restaurant veteran with more than 25 years of experience, Jason Longfield took over the kitchen 18 months ago. “We’re fortunate with Jason," says Rinaberger. "He’s created a good kitchen environment." A Manchester native, Longfield studied culinary arts and business at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, before working in fine-dining establishments on both coasts, as well as St. Louis–based OG Hospitality Group, which operates The Shack, Corner Pub, and The Tavern.

During mornings, Longfield's scratch cheddar-chive biscuits are a staple. "The DoorDash orders start dinging at 5:30 a.m.,” he says, "and people are standing at the door at 7 a.m., ready to get coffee and a biscuit before going to work." The biscuits are toasted, split, buttered, and warm, and served plain, as sandwiches or topped with sage sausage gravy.

Photo by Lynn Venhaus

Then there are the Rosemary Breakfast Potatoes (pictured at right). “Some of our patrons call them ‘potato crack’—they go crazy for them,” says Rinaberger. The chef parboils new red potatoes, smashes them, fries them until brown and crispy, and tosses them in a coarse salt-rosemary Parmesan cheese seasoning blend. “I keep a pot boiling all day," says Longfield. "One customers got a whole tray to serve at Thanksgiving.”

Other breakfast options include omelets, quiche, avocado toast on wheatberry bread with ‘everything’ seasoning, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, brioche French toast, and sandwiches. (Children gravitate toward a short stack of chocolate chip pancakes, among other options.) Weekend specialties include Short Rib Hash (red-wine braised beef, red potatoes, caramelized onions, and red bell pepper topped with two eggs and mild horseradish sauce, served in a cast-iron skillet) and pancakes (made with lemon, blueberry, and ricotta cheese).

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Photo by Lynn Venhaus

Blueberry ricotta pancakes

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Photo by Lynn Venhaus

Short rib hash

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Photo by Lynn Venhaus

J's BD Smash Burger

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Photo by Lynn Venhaus

TLC Grilled Chicken

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For lunch on weekdays, salads and sandwiches are available. Two popular sandwiches from the menu's ‘Hand Helds’ section include the TLC Grilled Chicken (a grilled tequila-, lime-, and cilantro-marinated chicken breast with bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado spread, chipotle aioli and queso fresco) and the made-to-order J’s BD Smash Burger (with two beef patties, bacon, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and cheddar cheese), named because a manager described it as “the best damn burger” she ever ate. Seasonal salads are also often on the menu—this autumn, for instance, Longfield added a Fall Harvest Salad (with butternut squash, apples, candied pecans, goat cheese, spring mix, chicken, and an apple cider vinaigrette).

Beverages include coffee, tea, fresh-squeezed lemonade, canned soda, and adult libations—mimosas, bellinis, spicy Bloody Mary, and spiked coffee or smoothies.

As for dessert? Pioneer offers two bread pudding options: chocolate or strawberry lemon.

Courtesy of Pioneer Bakery Cafe

Dipping smiley face cookies

Then there are the pastries. McArthur’s Bakery supplies pastries and cakes in the to-go counter. (Decorated birthday cakes can also be ordered for pickup.) A longtime favorite are the brightly colored Smiley Face cookies, a tradition at the former Kirkwood bakery and the namesake of the Smiley Face Cookie Company. The cookies have been featured on the Today show and are available at Schnucks. Hand-dipped and decorated by STEPUP workers, each cookie’s face is different on purpose.

"The smiles are unique," says Rinaberger. “They are perfectly imperfect cookies."

The Mission

“We all have become better people because of working with the STEPUP individuals," says Rinaberger. "Their joy is transformative. It’s easy to lose perspective, but attitudes have changed because everyone learns to work as a team."

Participants learn transferable skills while spending one to two years in the program. “They do a little bit of everything,” says Rinaberger, "from cleaning tasks to dishes to parceling bacon and mixing eggs." Of 11 recent graduates, nine are now working in competitive employment jobs, positions with pay that's higher than minimum wage and more than 24 hours a week, Rinaberger says.

“It’s a fresh start for them," he says, "and they learn confidence, patience and teamwork."