First Look: Nathaniel Reid Bakery in Kirkwood

Internationally renowned pastries are now available in Kirkwood. Pastry chefs and co-owners Nathaniel and Lee Lee Reid opened Nathaniel Reid Bakery at 11243 Manchester Road on Aug. 1, serving up sweet and savory breakfast pastries, sandwiches and colorful tarts and cakes.

Nathaniel Reid’s career is studded with accolades and stints in prestigious kitchens. Dessert Professional magazine named him one of the top 10 pastry chefs in America in 2012, and he received U.S. Pastry Chef of the Year at the 2010 Paris Gourmet Competition. Mostly recently, he served as pastry chef at The Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis, and he has crafted sweet confections at Joël Robuchon Restaurant at The Mansion at MGM Grand, as well as The Ritz-Carlton in Las Vegas.

Despite his successes in the fine dining and hotel industries, Reid said he’s always wanted to open a community bakery. “This was the goal since I started 15 years ago, to get to this position,” he said. Reid designed and constructed the 1,920-square-foot space from scratch, knocking down the wall between the former clothing store and neighboring office to create a small retail space and expansive pastry kitchen visible through a large window behind the counter.

That window showcases baking techniques of all kinds. Reid and the kitchen team create pastries from delicate laminated dough, fresh crusty baguettes for sandwiches, vibrant tarts and cakes, a rainbow of macarons and more. Patrons select from the day’s offerings on display in four pastry cases and can pair with a Kaldi’s coffee drink or tea. Nathaniel Reid Bakery is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Here’s a First Look at what to expect when you step inside Kirkwood’s newest bakery: