The opening day of Lulu’s Bakery was a difficult one for owner Cara Austin.
“I had a line out the door, and I’m still rolling all of my dough by hand,” she said. “I remember looking at my dad, like crying. I’m like, ‘I can’t do this. It’s just too much.’ He said ‘Yes, you can,’ and we just kept going.”
A decade later, Austin is still going every Saturday morning at Lulu’s.
Austin said she was never expecting that long line on her first day.
“That just shows how supportive the community has been since the beginning,” she said.
This February marks the 10-year anniversary of the bakery. Austin said this anniversary is a celebration of the customers who have supported the bakery along the way.
“I honestly wouldn’t be here for as long as I have without them,” she said.
Austin said she has not always been a good baker.
“I couldn’t bake, not even a cookie,” she said.
Austin credits her grandmother for sparking her interest in baking.
“She would always be baking breads and cookies of some sort,” she said. “I just kept at it.”
Austin began baking German chocolate cake and cinnamon crunch cake for family and friends. She also attended cooking and decorating classes at Michaels to gain more experience before applying to the culinary program at Johnson County Community College.
“I tried to do as much as I could in the short time span before the program started,” she said.
One of the first questions Austin’s professors asked her when she arrived at culinary school was what she wanted to do.
“I told them I kind of want to open up a small mom-and-pop place. Something that kind of feels like your grandma’s kitchen,” she said.
That’s when the idea of opening a bakery began for Austin.
After graduating in 2012, Austin still felt nervous about officially opening up a bakery.
“I always found some excuse not to open,” she said. “Until, finally, one day my dad’s like ‘Dude, you have to pick a day.’ So I just picked the second weekend in February and went from there.”
Austin said the bakery was originally going to be named Cara’s Cakes and Cookies or CCC. However, she ultimately chose Lulu’s, inspired by her family nickname.
Lulu’s started off just selling cinnamon rolls and croissants. Now, they also sell an array of fruit turnovers, muffins, cookies, bagels and doughnuts. Austin said the bakery’s bacon and egg breakfast croissants are the most popular.
Lulu’s also sells custom orders of birthday cakes and cookies. Austin said she tries to cut herself off at three custom orders a week, but she just can’t say no to some orders.
“Especially if it’s a birthday cake. Everybody deserves a cake on their birthday,” she said.
The bakery is open 8:30 to 11 a.m. Saturdays.
Austin said she’s thought about opening other days during the week but thinks it takes away from the excitement of Saturday mornings.
“I kind of feel like Saturdays are a special treat for some people,” she said.
Although the shop is limited to Saturdays for the public, Austin also works in the bakery Tuesday through Friday.
“I started preparing earlier in the week so I don’t feel so overwhelmed at the end of the week,” she said.
Austin uses the weekdays to make dough, fulfill her custom orders and bake the pastries for Zeb’s Coffeehouse. She arrives at the bakery at 6:30 a.m. Saturdays to finish baking and put finishing touches on all of her items before opening at 8:30 a.m.
Lulu’s has baked cinnamon rolls, chocolate croissants and a variety of turnovers for Zeb’s since its opening in 2018.
Zeb’s owner Kathy Weld said they were looking for a small business to help out with baked goods so she reached out to Austin.
“She was excited and ready to help from the very beginning,” Weld said.
Weld said it’s exciting to see another small business have long-term success.
“It’s grown a lot over the years, and it’s fun to have been able to see that,” she said.
Lulu’s makes at least eight dozen baked goods for Zeb’s every week.
Austin said her favorite part of the last 10 years has been developing friendships with customers.
“When I was pregnant, they even brought me food at my house,” she said. “That’s been my favorite part, making connections with the customers.”
Nihal Sadik, Austin’s sister-in-law, has worked at Lulu’s for nearly five years. She helps bake and decorate the pastries, as well as check out all of the customers.
Sadik said her favorite part about working at Lulu’s is chatting with customers.
“Everyone that comes in is just very sweet,” she said. “It just feels cozy.”
Sadik is proud of Austin for running the bakery for 10 years, but she’s shocked it’s been open so long.
“It kind of doesn’t feel real, but yeah, it’s nice,” she said.
Austin said she hopes the future of Lulu’s Bakery involves making more connections and building relationships within the Eudora community.
“[I hope] to continue being a staple in the community,” she said.
Reach reporter Ryn Drummond at [email protected]
