KANSAS CITY, MO — It was the ʼ90s. Bomber jackets and denim overalls were the latest fad, the family pet was a Tamagotchi, and Mollie Hirleman (now Lothman) was frequently picking up orders of “Cupcookies” and custom cakes from her mother’s favorite neighborhood bakery: McLain’s.
A staple of the Kansas City, MO, community since 1945, McLain’s Bakery was known during its tenure for its classic American baked goods and premier wedding cakes. With an ambition to create a storefront for local products, the McLain family built the foundation for what would turn into a living tapestry of generational legacies.
New generation, new beginnings
Flash forward to 2014. Ownership of the bakery had passed from the McLains, but the current owner was ready to sell. That’s when the Hirleman family came into the picture.
Brother-and-sister Jeff and Mollie Hirleman had been talking about going into business together — Mollie dreamed of owning a bakery and Jeff a coffee shop — when their father mentioned McLain’s Bakery was for sale.
It was kismet.
“We saw the potential immediately,” Jeff said. “This was a bakery that hadn’t really evolved yet. We could add some things and build off the good name it had from the generations before.”
The day after the deal officially closed, Mollie and Jeff reopened the bakery doors to the public. The siblings were motivated to get a jumpstart on business, understanding why Kansas Citians had loved McLain’s for decades.
“This was their neighborhood bakery,” Mollie said. “It’s where their parents and grandparents grew up visiting, and we would never want to take that away.”
While the Hirlemans knew they would keep the roots of the business at the forefront of their ownership, they also recognized the bakery’s need for modernization. They wanted the bakery to be a place where customers could get their morning coffee, a breakfast sandwich or even a midday sweet treat. They also wanted to create a hub where families would visit and stay a while on the weekends and where corporate individuals could have a business meeting.
Bright future ahead
“We’re always looking around to see what the current need is,” Mollie said. “We pull from all the different stages of life and figure out how McLain’s can be a place for everyone to enjoy.”
At that time, the bakery’s main clientele consisted of people who grew up with McLain’s and trusted its products. While regulars were the cornerstone for maintaining profits, Jeff and Mollie saw the potential to unlock an untapped market by appealing to a younger demographic.
The first step to creating a bakery that was more than just grab-and-go lay in additional seating and a full-service coffee bar. Jeff and Mollie replaced the lone coffee pot in the corner with an expanded selection of lattes and drip coffee and placed more tables in the dining area.
Mollie and Jeff’s strategic plan was to not only breathe life back into McLain’s but also expand on its potential. By 2016, the bakery was thriving … so much so that a second location with an inventive twist on the business model opened: McLain’s Market.
Built in Overland Park, KS, the new store offered hot food and a more holistic approach to breakfast items, expanding beyond donuts and pastries to burritos and sandwiches. While the Market would share the original bakery’s menu, the new location was conceptualized — and named — for its ability to shake things up.
“We didn’t think we could replicate the bakery; it was very much its own thing, and we wanted to try some new things,” Mollie said. “We changed the name to ‘McLain’s Market’ to help decipher between the two.”
Like a domino effect, this expansion would create a blueprint for multiple Markets to open within the span of eight years.
Today, there are six McLain’s locations, and each was specifically created to serve its respective community.
The brand’s flagship bakery remains nestled in a historic neighborhood of Kansas City, MO, and five McLain’s Markets are interspersed throughout the metropolitan area. In addition to the classic McLain’s pastries, cakes and cookies, each location serves hot items until early afternoon.
This story has been adapted from the June | Q2 2025 Craft to Crumb mini-mag. Read the full story in the digital issue here.
