Robin Knight, the owner of Kansas City’s gluten-free Emily Kate’s Bakery, died of lung cancer complications. She was 58 years old.
Knight’s cupcakes, cinnamon buns, cookies, and other baked products are available at local grocery stores as well as in her shop at 3008 S. 44th St.
“We are so grieved, shocked, and utterly heartbroken to share that our founder and owner, Robin Knight, passed away on September 8,” the bakery shared in a social media post. “Her ingenuity, tenacity, creativity, and mentorship will be sorely missed. What a lasting mark she has made on us all.”
The bakery is “staying open and continuing to grow,” according to manager Kayla Walker, but the loss of Knight has been painful for the workers.
“She was such an amazing woman, and we are all grateful to have been a part of the team that has been able to serve a community in need,” Walker said.
Knight, a Pleasant Hill High School and University of Missouri graduate, founded the company after her daughters, Emily and Katie, were diagnosed with celiac disease. Faced with a dearth of delectable gluten-free snacks, she began experimenting with her own dishes in her kitchen.
“I’m trying to make a decent cupcake for a kid who is sad about no more cupcakes, and I’m looking around at what’s out there and thinking there’s a huge gap in the marketplace for food that is good and delicious and not full of mold inhibitors or other things you don’t want to put in your body,” Knight said earlier this year to The Star.
Knight built the bakery’s first site in Prairie Village in 2015 at 4521 W. 90th St.
“In the beginnings of the bakery, Robin would get up at 3:30 a.m., head to the business… and bake a few things, make deliveries to local coffee shops and businesses, and then go to her day job in advertising at 8 a.m.,” according to a bakery post.
“EKB was one of the metro area’s first exclusively gluten-free bakeries, and we are grateful for the many that have since opened.” Robin thought that a food allergy should not stand in the way of the joy and pleasure found in wonderful food, and this legacy will continue on in EKB for the rest of time.”
Emily Kate’s goodies are available at Whole Foods, Cosentino’s Price Choppers, and various coffee shops in Kansas City.
Knight’s stake in the company will be retained by her daughters. Walker said she took on a team of investors around a year ago to assist build the business.
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